The Year it All Began
by Amailaya
Summary: Lily, James and the rest of the Marauders are starting their seventh year. Voldemort is becoming stronger, and Lily and James must learn to put aside their differences and work together to stop things from going from bad to worse.
1. A New Year

The Year it All Began  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters but in this story I can do whatever I like to them! (HA! HA! Look out Pettigrew!!!)  
  
This is my first attempt at a fanfic, please review so I know if I should continue!  
  
Lily, James and the rest of the Marauders are starting their seventh year. Voldemort is becoming stronger, and Lily and James must learn to put aside their differences and work together to stop things from going from bad to worse.  
  
Chapter 1: A New Year  
  
Pushing her trunk in front of her, Lily Evans walked through the wall between platforms 9 and 10 and thought about the first time she had made this trip, 7 years ago. What a child she had been! She was barely eleven and knew nothing about the wizarding world except for the few things she had been able to pick up from reading in the summer. She had known no one, and was very apprehensive about what she would find upon reaching the mysterious platform 9 and ¾ . Now, here she was, entering her final year at Hogwarts, walking onto the platform as Head Girl of the best school of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the world. She smiled at herself, thinking about how far she had come.  
  
As soon as the platform came into focus she began to look around for her friends.  
  
"Lily! Lily, over here!" Came a familiar voice. Lily turned to see her friend Alice Whitter smiling at her from the train. After making sure her trunk and pet Owl, Neigia, were taken care of, she raced over to Alice and gave her a big hug.  
  
"Hey, I missed you over the summer! How was your trip to America?" Lily asked the pretty blond girl in front of her.  
  
"Oh, it was great! You should have come with me though, I missed you. Now enough about me, Miss Head Girl, lets see the badge! I'm soooo happy for you, you really deserve it, Lily!" Lily laughed at her friend's enthusiasm as she dug through her bag and pinned the Head Girl Badge to the front of her shirt.  
  
"Yes, congratulations Lily! But, really, its not much of a surprise, I knew you'd get it!" Lily turned to see Frank Longbottom, a tall muscular Quidditch player, with broad shoulders and dark hair, who was one of her best friends.  
  
The three friends began searching for a compartment in the train, and finally found one that was unoccupied. A few minutes later, just as the train was about to pull out of the station, the door burst open and in popped a rather flustered girl. She brushed her brown hair out of her eyes, and began taking gasping breaths,  
  
"Phew! I just made it! Hey Guys!" she said as she plopped herself down on one of the benches and began to compose herself.  
  
"Emma Lynn Andrews! You really must try harder to be on time" Lily joked in her best McGonagall voice.  
  
"I know!" Emma replied, clearly mortified, "I just can't help it...." She looked so sincere and genuinely sorry that everyone else started laughing. Finally understanding it was a joke, she laughed and told Lily,  
  
"You're going to make a really good Head Girl! I know I for one would never want to be caught breaking the rules with you around! Hey! Does anyone know who got Head Boy?"  
  
"I don't know for sure, but if I had to guess, I would say Remus Lupin would be the most obvious choice." Alice guessed.  
  
"I don't know about that one," Frank said after a second a careful thought, "Maybe that Ravenclaw prefect, what's her name? The pretty one, who's on the Quidditch team."  
  
"Caitlynn?" Suggested Emma.  
  
"Ah, that's it!!! Caitlynn Baggler."  
  
"Caitlynn's not that pretty!" Alice suddenly exclaimed out of no where, "And I've heard she has to charm herself every morning to look like that, and...." Alice suddenly realized she sounded crazy and that everyone was staring at her oddly,  
  
"Never mind..." She said, going slightly red. "I think I'm going to go change into my robes."  
  
"That's a good idea, I think I'll join you, I have to go meet with the prefects soon." Lily exclaimed, jumping up.  
  
Lily finished with her robes before Alice and was waiting outside for her when she spotted the last person in the world she wanted to see walking through the corridor towards her. It was none other than James Potter. Oh no! She thought, here we go again! I had a whole peaceful summer to myself, now it's back to James and his pranks and his constant attempts to win me over. Why won't he just leave me alone? It wasn't like he didn't have other options, half the female population of the school was head over heels for the Quidditch star. Lily couldn't see what they found so exceptional, really. Well....., she thought staring at him, there was no denying that he was attractive. He was tall, and strong, with that adorable boyish grin..... and that hair, looking like he'd just walked off the quidditch pitch.......... and then there were those chocolate brown eyes..... and the way his eyes sparkled when he laughed.... Ok, Ok, so he was good looking, but looks aren't everything, right? He just acts like such a child, and he's really nothing but trouble, him and those Marauders of his. And he was still walking towards her, she tried her best to look invisible, without much success. But that didn't matter, James had stopped to talk to Anita Hall, one of the chasers on the Griffindor Quidditch team, and Lily noticed for the first time that he wasn't alone. He had his arm wrapped casually around the shoulders of a pretty 6th year Gryffindor. Lily stared, open mouthed, her stomach dropped to the floor and she could only stare as he gave the girl a quick kiss before continuing down the corridor brushing past Lily with only a brief, 'Hullo Evans'. Lily stood staring after him, her mouth hanging open, and it did not close for awhile. She was in shock and he was wearing the Head Boy badge!  
  
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Oh Merlin, Lily looks good! Thought James as he passed her in the hall, and then mentally slapped himself for thinking such a thought. She doesn't like you, you moron, she has made that perfectly clear, and you're going to have to work with her a lot this year, things might as well be civil between us. But, wow, she really did look good. James was snapped out of his thoughts by a rather exasperated looking Sirius.  
  
"Earth to Prongs!!!" Sirius chanted, "Nice to see we have you back with us! What were you doing? Daydreaming about Erin again?"  
  
"huh?" James looked confused.  
  
"Erin, your girlfriend." Sirius reminded him.  
  
"Oh, ah, yeah, I mean no, no, I wasn't thinking about anything like that." James mumbled in a hurry. Sirius gave him a puzzled look, but dropped the subject.  
  
"OK, whatever you say, old boy."  
  
Sirius and James walked back to the compartment in silence. The truth was, James often forgot he had a girlfriend. They'd only been dating a month, and at first James had enjoyed being with her, but lately she had started to become a little too possessive of him. James didn't know if he wanted to continue things with her. But he didn't know how to say that to her, she really was a sweet girl, she just wasn't the girl James wanted to be with. The two friends reached the compartment they were sharing with fellow Marauders, Peter Pettigrew and Remus Lupin. Peter was sound asleep and drooling at one side of the compartment and Remus was reading what looked like a school book on the other side.  
  
"So Moony, are you ready to go? I still can't believe Dumbledore made me Head Boy over you! I mean, I wasn't even a prefect!" James said to Remus.  
  
"Well, I would have been surprised if he had chosen me, given my condition" Remus said, a little sadly. Remus was always sensitive about the fact he was a warewolf.  
  
"Oh come off it! Moony, you would make a better Head Boy than Prongs, warewolf or not, and we all know it!" laughed Sirius.  
  
"Thanks for the vote of confidence," James exclaimed drying.  
  
"No problemo, mon ami!" Sirius grinned slapping James on the back. "What are friends for?"  
  
"We really should get going, Prongs, or we will be late, and you know what would happen if we are late." Remus asked.  
  
"Yeah, Evans will have our heads!" James replied, secretly smiling at the way Lily looked when she was angry. The flush in her cheeks matching the flame of her hair, and fire flashed in her green eyes, she always looked so exquisite... Maybe that is why he always tried to edge her on. But not this year, he vowed, this year would be different, he would be different. He'd grown up a lot. He wondered if she would notice.  
  
That's it for now! More will come shortly...  
  
**Please Review** 


	2. Dumbledore's Departure

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, so please don't sue (I'm a poor student, you wouldn't get anything anyways)  
  
Chapter 2: Dumbledore's Departure  
  
What is wrong with me? Lily thought. She was waiting for the prefects to show up so she could begin the meeting, but her thoughts were elsewhere. She couldn't stop thinking about James and him kissing that other girl. It's not like I like him or anything, she thought, and obviously it was going to happen sooner or later, I mean he had a whole fan club to choose from! I mean I should be happy, he won't be bothering me so much anymore, no more teasing, no more constantly getting asked out by him.. Why can't I get that stupid kiss out of my head! ARGH!!! I've gone crazy, that's it, completely insane, there is no other explanation. That's it, I'm going to forget about it, think about something else, ok.. Hmmmm... OWL's are coming up... got to study up on Transfiguration, wouldn't want James to beat me.. James, always so smug and confident, with that stupid grin all the time.. Just then Lily felt a hand on her shoulder, she let out a scream and jumped three feet into the air, and whirled around to find herself face to face with none other than James Potter.  
  
"Lily? Are you OK, you seemed a little out of it." He asked sounding concerned. Lily's face had turned bright red, and she had to catch her breath when she looked at him, she quickly backed away,  
  
"Of course. I'm fine, I was just thinking about our OWLs," Oh, Merlin, she thought, why am I so nervous, this is JAMES! I'm acting like one of those stupid bimbos that hang off his every word. Get a grip on yourself, girl!!! She took a deep breath and tried to calm her heart.  
  
"So James, I see you've gotten Head Boy, I must say, I'm more than a little surprised." She began, mentally slapping herself for sounding so rude.  
  
"Yeah, so was I, actually" he replied, laughing good-naturedly. Then he looked down at his feet and an awkward silence seemed to grow between the two of them. When James finally looked up he had a serious look in his eye.  
  
"Look Lily," he began softly, "I want to talk to you about something." He sounded quite serious, and Lily didn't know what to make of it. This sort of behaviour was really unusual for James, he was never serious about anything. Lily concluded he must be building up to some sort of joke, but decided to go along with it just in case. She was going to have to work with him a lot this year, it would be better if they didn't start out as complete enemies.  
  
"Yes?" Lily prompted, "What is it?"  
  
"Well..." James began, looking down at his feet again "its just that, I know things haven't really been too friendly between us, and I know that that is mostly my fault." He sounded so nervous and his words were coming out in such a rush. "I just wanted to tell you not to worry, that I won't be bothering you anymore, and that I hope we can, well, work together and maybe, maybe.. be. errr.. friends?" He looked up to meet her eyes. Lily was stunned, she kept thinking he was going to yell 'gotcha' or something more in character for James, but he just stood there staring at her, waiting for a response. Finally, Lily replied,  
  
"Of course, well I'm sure if we are mature about it, we should get along just fine" Lily said, rather more coldly than she had intended. She mentally chastised herself, why do you always have to do that? He was just trying to be nice, wasn't he? You didn't have to bite his head off for it! That certainly isn't going to help your relationship with James! Lily smiled, trying to show that she was really serious about trying to get along. She was just about to apologize and say she would love to be friends with him when the two Ravenclaw prefects walked into the car, interrupting her thoughts. Lily promised herself who would finish the conversation later.  
  
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The meeting was finally over and James was heading back to his compartment with Remus who was giving him an odd look.  
  
"Alright already! What is it?" James snapped. Taken aback, Remus gave James a quizzical glace,  
  
"Oh it's nothing. Really. I just noticed you staring at a certain Witch from the Past during the entire meeting. I thought you were over Lily?" James sighed,  
  
"I thought so too.., I really thought I just wanted to be her friend, but she's just so, so.. so Lily." James ran his hands through his hair nervously laughing, "But I guess she's made her feelings perfectly clear." After a few moments of silence James said in a cheerier voice, "Alright, Moony, from now on, if I say or do anything to suggest that I want Lily for more than a friend, you have the right to exact any sort of payment you see fit." Remus laughed,  
  
"Alright... but you'll probably regret it" he grinned.  
  
*****************************************************************  
  
". and then I said that as long as we were mature, we should be able get along just fine." Lily finished explaining what had happened earlier to Alice, Emma, and Frank, hiding her face in her hands. They were all sitting at the Gryffindor table watching the first years get sorted. Just then the hat pronounced a small, gangly red-headed boy to be a Gryffindor and the four friends rose with the rest of the table and applauded.  
  
"Lily, it'll be OK, I'm sure James will be fine" said Emma soothingly as they sat back down. Alice nodded her head in agreement.  
  
"Just talk to him next time you see him, explain what happened." Alice suggested rationally.  
  
"You know, Lily, for someone you claim to hate, you sure do talk about James a lot. I don't think you've stopped talking about him since you got back from that meeting!" Frank observed, a sly twinkle in his eye. Lily laughed,  
  
" I guess you're right. Thanks guys, I'm just going to stop worrying about it." Lily smiled at her friends and turned her attention back to the front of the room, where 'Wheeler, Debbie' was just sorted into Ravenclaw. Just then she noticed a rather dishevelled and nervous-looking wizard run in from the side. He looked around wildly, until he seemed to find what he was looking for. Hardly any of the students noticed him as he ran up to Dumbledore, they were too enthralled with the sorting, but Lily was following his movements intently. She nudged Alice and Frank and indicated the wizard, who now appeared to be frantically trying to explain something to the Headmaster. As the trembling wizard reached the end of his explanation, something passed across the face of the Headmaster that Lily thought she would never see from Dumbledore in a million years. She saw fear: genuine, unmistakable fear. Lily felt her heart begin to pound. What could be so awful that it terrified Dumbledore? Lily didn't want to think about it. As they were watching, Dumbledore leaned over and whispered something briefly to Professor Mcgonagall; she looked startled but nodded. Then Dumbledore stood up and all but ran out the door following the nervous wizard.  
  
Lily and her friends stared at each other in shock and disbelief. What was going on? Just than Emma, who had gone to the washroom, rejoined the table, she also looked a little startled.  
  
"Dumbledore just ran past me in the hall, he looked really worried about something. He was with some guy who looked like he'd just been in a fight. Dumbledore said something about 'contacting the order immediately', and then he and the other wizard walked out of the castle, heading towards the woods, and... wait a second, what happened here?" Emma asked, noticing the looks on the faces of her friends. They filled her in and they began discussing what possibly could have been so urgent that the Headmaster had to leave in such a hurry, trying to keep their voices as low as possible. Suddenly Alice piped up,  
  
"Shh. I think Mcgonagall's going to talk, maybe she'll let us know what is going on."  
  
"Attention students, I know that the Headmaster usually gives this start of term address, unfortunately, urgent business has called Professor Dumbledore away this evening," a murmer went through the room "Quiet, Quiet please! Now Professor Dumbledore expresses his regrets that he cannot be with us tonight but assured me that he would be back tomorrow to great you properly. For now I would like to welcome the new first years to Hogwarts, I'm sure you will enjoy your time here, and I would like to welcome the rest of you back as well, I'm sure you're all ready to start right back into your schoolwork after a restful holiday." There were a few groans from the students. "Now, without further ado, let's eat." As plates of food appeared on the table, Lily looked at Frank, Alice and Emma.  
  
"So much for letting us know what's going on!" Alice sighed.  
  
"Well, I guess we'll find out tomorrow, nothing we can do now but wait."  
  
End of Chapter 2  
  
Please review!!!!!! Please??? 


	3. The First Strike

Disclaimer: I did not create Harry Potter; that honour belongs to the great JK Rowling..  
  
Chapter 3: The First Strike  
  
James stood in a long white hallway, that seemed to go on forever, he could hear a girl laughing, but he couldn't tell where she was. Then a faint yet familiar female voice called to him.  
  
"Over here!" the voice called. He moved in the direction of the sound, and suddenly around a corner came a flash of red hair. It was Lily! He ran to catch up with her, but as soon as he got near, she would start running again. It was hard for him to make his feet move, they felt like they weighed a hundred pounds. Then suddenly he turned the corner and Lily was in front of him, but it was no longer Lily, it was Erin, with red hair. She was crying, and afraid, and called for him to help her. James tried to get to her but for every step he took, she moved further out of reach. Just then he felt a hand on his back and he turned around. This time it was Lily, the real Lily.  
  
"We need to help Erin!" James cried urgently.  
  
"Who is Erin?" Lily asked softly, seductively, as she manoeuvred herself around so that she was right in front of James, her hands still on his shoulders. She was looking up into his eyes and smiled. "Who's Erin?" she asked again as she moved her hands up into his hair, and James found he couldn't remember. He was finding it hard to swallow, hard to breath. Lily kept moving closer and closer, her body pressed up next to his, her lips getting closer and closer. James closed his eyes and bent his head down to kiss her and.  
  
"CRASH!!!!!!"  
  
James opened his eyes and groaned. Just a dream he sighed sadly. He looked around angrily to try and discover what it was that had woken him up from such a good dream. It was Peter, he had fallen out of bed again and now lay sprawled on the floor still snoring away. It looked like his fall hadn't woken any of the others, James noted, jealously, but then again, they had probably all remembered to put the sound-proofing charm on their bed curtains before they went to bed. James, Sirius, Remus, and Frank had learned a long time ago that the only way to get a decent night's sleep with Peter snoring all night was to use a charm to soundproof the curtains around their beds. James must have forgotten to cast the charm before bed last night. He looked over at the window, it looked like a miserable day outside, the sky was grey and rain was falling softly past the window. He lay back down, trying to sleep, hoping he would slip back into a sweet dream..  
  
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"Come on, Emma!" Lily called up the stairs to her friend, "we're going to miss breakfast!". Lily, Alice and Frank were waiting in the Gryffindor common room for Emma to join them so they could go for breakfast. The door at the top of the steps burst open and out flung Emma in a rush, her hair was in a mess, she was carrying several books, her wand, a cauldron and various other things in her arms. She came flying down the stairs and nearly tripped over the bottom of her robes as she was doing so.  
  
"Whoa!" She exclaimed, catching her balance. "Sorry I'm late guys, I guess I must've slept in!" Emma replied as she tried to compose herself. Her friends laughed at the state she was in,  
  
"No harm done, Emma," Alice said, "but let's go! I want to find out what happened to Dumbledore last night!" As they walked down to breakfast, Emma composed herself remarkably fast, she quickly performed a hair charm on herself, causing the unruly mass of brown hair to shine and fall in perfect waves landing on her shoulders, she stuffed her books neatly into her cauldron, straightened her robes, and looked just like she had spent an hour getting ready, instead of only waking up ten minutes ago. Alice watched her, an amused look on her face,  
  
"I must admit, Emma, you do have a certain aptitude for doing things in a rush!" The four friends were still laughing when they reached the great hall but stopped immediately when they entered. Instead of the usual cheerful morning crowd they normally encountered at breakfast, the great hall was nearly silent. The only talking was being done by whisper. The four friends looked around, feeling a great sense of apprehension. Some of the students looked really scared, some looked sad, a few from the Slytherin table looked a little smug. As they sat down at the Gryffindor table, Lily noticed a first year girl crying, she was about to go comfort her, when she saw James moving towards the girl. Looking at him in surprise, she noticed the clear look of sadness mingled with anger, and a tinge of fear in his eyes. He looked back at her, and nodded in response to Lily's questioning glance as he began whispering to the little girl. Lily turned her attention back to the table.  
  
"What happened?" She asked a 5th year sitting next to her. The girl looked upset and didn't answer, instead she handed Lily a copy of the Daily Prophet and buried her face in her hands. Lily took the paper and began to read aloud the article on the front page:  
  
The Wizarding World is reeling from the shock this morning after  
a deadly attack by He Who Shall Not be Named that took the lives  
of 12 Muggle-born witches and wizards last night.  
  
Lily's eyes widened and she had to pause to make sure she had read the line correctly. Ensuring she had, she continued with an unsteady voice,  
  
The attack occurred shortly before 9:00 last night as the Muggle-  
Born Witchs and Wizards Society (MBWW) was about to begin their  
annual meeting. According to the sole remaining witness, Mr.  
Kindley, He Who Shall Not Be Named apparated with a number of  
other witches and wizards wearing black cloaks with hoods that  
covered their faces, right into the home of Mr. Loren Winters,  
the late host of this years Society meeting. According to  
Kindley, immediately upon apparating, He Who Shall Not Be Named  
cast the killing curse on Mr. Winters. A massive battle then  
erupted between the remaining 12 wizards and He Who Shall Not Be  
Named's Death Eaters. According to Kindley, the battle was  
fierce but the Society members lacked the necessary resolve  
required to cast the killing curse, so were in a losing battle  
from the start. Kindley, who belongs to a long line of  
distinguished wizards, had accompanied his wife Tara, a Muggle-  
born, to the meeting that evening. Kindley claims that after  
performing the cruciatus curse on him several times, He Who  
Shall Not Be Named told him to go, and to give the world a  
message. "He said," related a quivering Kindley, "that this is  
just the beginning. That this is a message to all Mudbloods and  
those that would stand with them. And to all pure-bloods, the  
time has come for us to join together, to take back what is  
rightfully ours, to become a strong force again. Wizardingkind  
has become weak, we seem to be fading away into nothingness, we  
tip-toe around the Muggles when we should be ruling them. We  
must come together, become strong again in spirit, strong in  
will, strong in endurance, strong to bear all sacrifices*. Join  
with me, my brothers and sisters of the Wizarding World. Join  
with me, and together we will be strong, and we will all share a  
part in the new world that is to come. Go against me, and you  
will surely suffer greatly, needlessly." Understandably shaken  
by this ordeal, Kindley is currently being treated at St.  
Mungo's. As you all know, He Who Shall Not Be Named has been  
quietly gathering supporters for the past few years, but this is  
the first hostile action that he has taken. When approached for  
comment, the Minster for Magic, Percival Grundy said that "This  
is a black day in the Wizarding World, my deepest sympathies go  
out to the families and friends of the victims and I urge all  
Witches and Wizards to be on their guard."  
  
Lily looked up from reading the paper, her voice and her hands were shaking, and she could barely breath. Twelve witches and wizards dead! How could it have happened? What did this all mean? She herself was Muggle-Born, was she in danger? A million thoughts raced through her mind. She felt sick to her stomach. She looked around at her friends for support, Alice had tears rolling down her face, Emma looked stunned, like she'd just been hit on the head by a bludger, Frank looked angry, like he wanted to kill something. Lily still couldn't believe what had happened. She was brought out of her thoughts by a solemn 'ahem' from the front of the room. She turned to see a haggard Professor Dumbledore standing there, attempting to get the attention of the room, he looked tired, and there were several more lines on his face than she was used to seeing,  
  
"I'm sure by now," he began in a sombre tone, "that you have all heard about the terrible tragedy that took place last night. Many remarkable Wizards and Witches lost their lives, and we are assured that this is only the beginning. There is nothing I can say that would help ease the pain and shock of this terrible news. There is no explanation that I can offer as to why, but I can remind you that life continues, no matter how hard it might get. In light of these recent events, all classes will be cancelled today." There was a slight rustling, with quickly stopped as Dumbledore raised his hands "Also all Hogsmeade weekends have been cancelled until further notice. I would also ask to see the Head Boy and Girl in my office as soon as would be convenient. That is all."  
  
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".I would also like to see the Head Boy and Girl in my office as soon as would be convenient. That is all."  
  
James couldn't believe what was happening. It seemed so unbelievable. So senseless. So many good people lost their lives, and they did nothing to deserve it, except for be born with the wrong blood. He didn't know what to do, he felt so helpless. But he also felt angry. Who was this Voldemort to decide who should live and who should die? It was not up to him. He looked down the table to where Lily sat. She was a Muggle-born, did that mean she was a target? James shuddered, he didn't want to consider that possibility. He felt a knot of fear grow in the centre of his gut. The words 'this is just the beginning' rang in his ears. How many more would die in this senseless, meaningless way? James couldn't bare to think about it. He looked at his friends, no one said anything. The expressions on the faces of Sirius and Remus mirrored his, Peter looked terrified,  
  
"My great-grandmother was a Muggle-born, d-d-d-d-do you th-th-th-think that means You K-k-k-k-know Who will come after me?" Peter asked quivering. Remus placed a comforting hand on Peter's shoulders and squeezed.  
  
"Don't worry, mate," he said giving Peter a small smile and tried to sound reassuring, "We won't let anything happen to you." Peter relaxed a little but didn't set seem too comforted.  
  
James rose slowly,  
  
"I best go find Lily and see what Dumbledore wants." James announced as he quietly moved away from the table.  
  
End of chapter 3!  
  
Please Review!!!  
  
Thank you to Riddle-Child for reviewing the last chapter. I will try to fix up those spelling mistakes.  
  
*excerpt from one of Hitler's speeches - Voldemort reminds me of him 


	4. Surprises

Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns everything, I own nothing, *sniff sniff*  
  
Chapter 4: Surprises  
  
James and Lily walked in silence all the way to Dumbledore's office. James could tell Lily was very shaken by what they had just found out but he could hardly blame her, he was pretty shook up himself. He had to admit, however, that he admired the way she held herself, barely letting on how afraid she was, looking like she would be ready to fight anything that might come her way. He wanted so badly to reassure her, to reach out and pull her into his arms, hold her close and tell her everything would be alright, that he wouldn't let anything happen to her. But he couldn't, he wouldn't dare, she'd never let him get close. In fact, James thought with a smile, she'd probably smack me right now if she knew what I was thinking. Suddenly he felt a light touch on his arm and it was his turn to jump in surprise.  
  
"James?" asked Lily sounding, James thought, almost concerned. "Are you alright? You nearly walked right past the door."  
  
"Yeah, yeah, fine, sorry, just thinking" James stammered in return.  
  
As they entered his office, Dumbledore was sitting at his desk humming a melancholy tune to himself and writing what appeared to be a very long letter. Without looking up from his parchment, Dumbledore motioned them to come forward.  
  
"Come in, sit down, may I offer you a candy?" He asked, indicating the small dish sitting on the edge of his desk. James and Lily both shook their heads and took a seat in front of the Headmaster. He finished writing and the scroll quickly did itself up and seemed to vanish in mid- air. "I'm sure I don't have to tell you what a serious matter yesterday's events are" Dumbledore began solemnly "dark times are approaching, and I fear no one as yet has the power to stop them. But we must be concerned with those things that we can do. I am afraid that this year will be an especially difficult one for you two as head boy and girl. I must ask you, as well as the prefects, to take on some additional responsibilities this year. I would like you all to take on additional night patrols and be sure to report any... unusual activities to me immediately. Also, this is not a time in which we want petty bickering to break out among our students, I would ask you to try and encourage harmony between the houses as much as possible. Do either of you have any questions regarding your duties, or anything else of importance you would like to discuss?" Dumbledore looked at them through his half-moon glasses, his shrewd eyes looking very tired.  
  
Lily cleared her throat, and asked, sounding a little nervous, "Professor, you don't think that Who Know Who will come here, do you? He wouldn't target students, would he?"  
  
"Ah, Miss Evans, I am not one to say what another will or will not do, but know that it would be nearly impossible for anyone to enter Hogwarts without my knowledge and that there are many things protecting this school that even the most powerful wizards cannot dispel." This answer left James only somewhat reassured. There had never been a more powerful wizard than Voldemort, how would they know their defences would hold up? But he did trust that Dumbledore would do everything in his considerable power to protect his students. Just as James was about to ask if he would like a schedule of the patrol duties, he was interrupted by the flap of a beautiful golden phoenix entering the room. Fawkes flew across the room and dropped a small roll of parchment on Dumbledore's desk, then came to rest on a small golden perch on the far side of the room.  
  
"My apologies Miss Evans, Mr Potter, I have matters to attend to, but I have every faith in your abilities as Head Boy and Girl." Dumbledore stuffed the parchment Fawkes had dropped quickly into his robes and hurriedly showed James and Lily to the door. He then began walking very fast in the opposite direction down the hall. James and Lily looked at each other for a moment.  
  
"I wonder where he's running off to?" James wondered out loud as they began walking towards the Gryffindor common room. "And a phoenix, delivering a letter like a common owl! I wonder what that was all about."  
  
"That's not all," Lily remarked, "that letter he was writing when we walked in, he was using coders ink, I'm sure of it. I couldn't see a word of writing on that parchment." James hadn't noticed that. Coders ink was very rare, and very expensive. It sometimes took a potionsmaster months of work to get the exact formula. Anything written in coders ink could be read only by the person whose blood had been used in making it, and only while that person was alive.  
  
"That letter must have been very important if Dumbledore was using coders ink." Said James thoughtfully. "I wonder what's really going on. Obviously there is a lot that Dumbledore didn't tell us."  
  
"I guess we'll just have to find out on our own, then won't we?" Lily winked mischievously, surprising James, who gave her a great big sloppy grin in return.  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
"And you're sure it was coders ink?" Emma asked incredulously as Lily finished recounting what had happened in Dumbledore's office to Emma, Alice, and Frank. Lily nodded.  
  
"I'm positive." Lily confirmed confidently. "My guess is that Dumbledore has known for a while that things were going to get worse. He's probably been working against You Know Who in secret all along."  
  
"It hardly seems real, does it?" Alice asked quietly, "I mean, so many people dead... and even Dumbledore said it was just the beginning... I just wish there was something we could DO."  
  
"I know, I hate feeling so helpless!" Frank exclaimed, "I feel like I'm just waiting for You Know Who to come and get me."  
  
"Well..." began Emma slowly, "maybe we can't go out and fight You Know Who, but that doesn't mean that we can't do anything. We can still be prepared ourselves. We can find out as much as we can about You Know Who and we can learn how to protect ourselves if we ever need to."  
  
"Say there, Miss Andrews, that's sounds like a brilliant plan to me! When do we start?" said Sirius flopping down into a chair next to Alice and looking up at her with a crazy grin on his face. Lily rolled her eyes, but couldn't help but smile.  
  
"You really shouldn't be eavesdropping on other peoples conversations, you know!" said Lily in the sternest voice she could muster while trying hard not to laugh at the mock expression of remorse on Sirius's face.  
  
"I know, I know," said Sirius with mock sincerity, "but I just can't help being interested in such beautiful lad-oomph!" Sirius was cut off by a pillow thrown at him by Alice.  
  
"Nice aim, Alice!" complemented James as he took a seat along with Peter and Remus.  
  
"Hey!" exclaimed Sirius, "Aren't you supposed to back ME up? But seriously, Emma here has come up with a brilliant plan..."  
  
Lily didn't know how thrilled she was about joining forces with James and his bunch, but after spending the rest of the morning and a considerable portion of the afternoon discussing different things they could do to help prepare themselves to face Voldemort, it seemed that joining forces was just what they were going to do. On the way back up to the common room from a late lunch, Lily decided she wanted to go see Hagrid. She let Alice know where she was off to and set off across the school grounds. She'd barely gotten ten feet from the front door of the school, however, before she heard her name being called behind her. She turned around. It was James, running to catch up to her.  
  
"Hey Lily, I thought I'd tag along, if you don't mind, I haven't seen Hagrid for a while." James said catching his breath.  
  
"No, not at all," Lily said pleasantly, and a sudden thought struck her: she really didn't mind. Here she was walking alone with James Potter, who only yesterday she would have claimed she hated more than anyone in the world, and for once she really was happy to be in his company. This whole thing must have affected me more than I realized, she thought to herself.  
  
When they reached Hagrid's hut they knocked on the door, but they got no answer. They peered in the windows, but they couldn't see anyone, it looked like Hagrid hadn't been there for a while. They couldn't see Fang, Hagrid's bloodhound, anywhere around either.  
  
"That's strange" said Lily. "Did you see him at breakfast?"  
  
"I didn't really notice," James replied, "Come to think of it, I don't even know if I saw him last night at the feast."  
  
After circling the hut a few more time, James and Lily decided they would try again after classes tomorrow. As they walked up to the castle, they talked about their summers, and their families, and about their upcoming NEWTs. Lily found herself actually enjoying talking to James. He was actually a pretty nice guy when he wasn't trying to be all cool and tough, she thought. She found herself staring at the side of his face as they walked, smiling at the way his hair seemed to fly in every direction, watching his mouth move.  
  
They were just walking into the common room when Lily suddenly tripped over something lying on the ground; she began to fall but ended up smack in James's arms instead. He had caught her before she could hit the ground and now had his arms clasped tightly around her, and she was pressed right up against him, so close that she could feel his heart beating, or was that hers? She couldn't tell. She was having trouble catching her breath. The warmth of his body pressed against hers was making it hard for her to concentrate. She raised her head, meaning to tell him to let go of her, but ended up finding his eyes instead. She saw something there, a desire she wasn't prepared for and it captivated her. Time suddenly seemed to stand still, and Lily seemed to forgot where she was, all she could think about was how good it felt to be so close to the boy in front of her. She just wanted to melt into him, to get as close as possible, to –her thoughts were interrupted by Emma, who came running over.  
  
"Oh my goodness! Lily are you alright?" Lily quickly came to her senses, and immediately took a step back from James, who had let go of her just as fast. "I am sooooo sorry I completely forgot a left my books there by the door! I saw you trip over them... it was lucky James was there to catch you!" Emma looked at one flushed face to the other, "Is everything OK?" she asked, apprehensively.  
  
"Yes!" Lily said quickly.  
  
"Just fine" Said James at the same time.  
  
"Okay..." Emma answered not looking at all convinced, but she did scoop up the rest of her books and belongings from the floor and headed towards the girls dormitory, leaving Lily and James in a rather awkward silence.  
  
James was looking at the ground, rubbing the back of his neck, and began nervously "Look, uh... Lily.... I'm ah... sor-"  
  
"Don't worry about it" Lily said quickly, not letting him finish the apology. "I should be thanking you for catching me." James looked relieved that she wasn't going to yell at him. Lily couldn't really say she blamed him, given her past history. "C'mon, how about I make it up to you by letting you beat me in a game of chess?" Lily suggested.  
  
"Sure, I'd love t- Oh wait! Sorry I can't!" he said smacking his forehead, "I completely forgot! I was supposed to meet Erin 10 minutes ago. She's going to kill me! Uh, maybe later for that chess game, k?" James yelled back to Lily as he was running out the portrait door. As she watched him go, Lily couldn't help feeling a strange, unpleasant feeling rising inside her. If she didn't know better, she would have thought she was jealous.  
  
End of chapter 4!  
  
Thanks sooooo much to everyone who reviewed my last chapter! You guys are awesome! 


	5. Mysteries

Disclaimer: I do not now, nor will I ever, own Harry Potter  
  
A/N: This chapter will be entirely from Lily's perspective, but for those who love 'the guys' the next chapter, "Marauders Night Out", will be the same events from James's perspective.  
  
Chapter 5: Mysteries  
  
The rest of her first week back at Hogwarts flew by very fast for Lily. The professors had already began to pile on the homework, saying that they needed to start preparing for their NEWTs as soon as possible, so Lily and her friends were kept busy. Even Sirius and James seemed to be working hard. Maybe they HAVE finally matured, Lily began to think to herself after they'd gotten through a whole week without a single incident. Lily made a point of stopping by Hagrid's hut everyday but so far there was no sign of him. Lily was a little worried, but she guessed that if something bad had happened to him, Dumbledore would have mentioned it.  
  
Early into her second week, Lily was just returning from one of her visits to Hagrid's hut, thinking about all the arithmancy homework she had to do that night, when she walked into the common room to be greeted by a spectacular sight. Posters had been hung on the walls around the common room, ALL over the common room. Every spare inch of wall space had been covered. Lily took a closer look at the nearest poster, and started to feel a familiar anger rise inside her. The poster showed a picture of James Potter, dressed in his Quidditch robes, holding a broomstick. The posters had words zipping around the outside announcing that Quidditch tryouts would be held in two weeks. Lily might have been able to handle the posters everyplace if it wasn't for the fact that they had all been charmed to TALK. As soon as they caught sight of her, all the James's in the posters around her had begun to call out to her, telling her she should try out for the Quidditch team.  
  
'Ever dreamed of being a chaser?'  
  
'Come out to tryouts!'  
  
'You'd be great, just give it a shot'  
  
'Join the Gryffindor Team, be a winner!'  
  
'We want YOU for Quidditch!'  
  
And about another hundred voices called out to her all at once. The noise in the room was unbearable. Lily was furious. Any thoughts she had had about James and Sirius finally growing up had vanished. She marched into the common room and looked around for someone to yell at. She saw Sirius laughing and flirting with a bunch of fifth years,  
  
"Yeah, you should definitely come and try out, I'd love to see your moves!" Sirius told a pretty blond girl, who promptly blushed and giggled.  
  
"You know, it should have been you on those posters," said a cute little brunette coyly, "I mean James is great, but he's nothing compared to you."  
  
"Well now you're just making me blush!" Sirius replied, without a hint of modesty. Lily marched right up to him, grabbed his arm, pulled him around to face her and angrily exclaimed,  
  
"What is all this?!?!" She wildly motioned to the room.  
  
"Ah, honey, you do care! I didn't mean to make you jealous, I was just talking to these lovely girls!" Sirius said, throwing his arm around her shoulder.  
  
"I didn't mean that!" Lily exclaimed, throwing Sirius's arm off. "I meant all these POSTERS! What were you thinking?"  
  
"Aren't they great? I really think they get the message across." Sirius said, looking around the room admiringly.  
  
"No! They aren't great! I want you to take them down right now! How am I supposed to do any studying with all these James's yelling in my ear! And speaking of James, where is he anyways?"  
  
"Right here," came a voice from behind her. Lily whirled around, "Well, I suppose you heard. I want you to take these posters down RIGHT NOW! And to think, I was even starting to think you had grown up a bit, and then you go and pull a stunt like this! I'm going to have a shower, and when I get back this all better be cleaned up!" Lily whirled around and began to march up to her room.  
  
"Wait! Lily!" James called after her as he ran to catch up. Lily kept walking, so was still too mad to think straight. "look, Lily, before you run off would you please listen to me? I wasn't going to leave them up, I just thought it would be good for effect, let everybody know about Quidditch and give them a little fun in the process. If you haven't noticed, people around here have been a little tense lately. I just thought I'd try and boost moral, that's all." Lily had slowed down, and her anger began to dissolve. Maybe she had overreacted a little, but she wasn't about to admit that to James.  
  
"Are you finished?" asked Lily coldly, too coldly she thought to herself.  
  
"Yeah, I guess I am." James said coldly in a low even tone as he turned and walked away.  
  
What's wrong with me? thought Lily. Why couldn't I just say I'm sorry, that maybe I acted a little rashly? Lily cursed herself as she sat on her bed in her room. Maybe James isn't the only one who needs to grow up, she thought miserably as she fell back onto the bed.  
  
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Later that night Lily was sitting in the common room, trying to finish as essay for her History of Magic class. She was stuck on the third paragraph, not knowing what to write next. She set her quill down and sighed as she sunk back into the chair she was sitting in. She looked around the room. She was one of the only people still up. There were two sixth year boys playing chess in one corner, and a third year who looked little she'd fallen asleep on one of the more comfortable chairs, her Defence Against the Dark Arts book still lying open on her lap. She looked down at the ground and something caught her eye. It was a wrinkled piece of paper. Picking it up she noticed it was one of the posters that had been placed all around the room. She was about to throw it out, but something stopped her. Instead she opened it up, smoothed it out and looked at the picture of James. She found herself smiling. James looked so good all dressed up in his Quidditch robes, she thought. The James in the picture looked back at her and smiled. It was unlike any smile she'd seen from James before. It was a real smile, genuine and happy, not one of those cocky, half-grins he normally has, she thought, but a sweet, secret, caring smile, like he's smiling just for me. Lily felt like she could look into those big brown eyes of his forever. She smiled, and looked around, making sure no was watching her. She quickly folded the poster in half and stuck in into her transfiguration textbook. Then, feeling much happier, she picked up her quill and began to write again.  
  
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The rest of the week was pretty uneventful for Lily. She was still trying to avoid James. She didn't really know what to say to him. She was sorry she had overreacted in the common room, but she didn't know how to tell him, so she just avoided the whole thing altogether. She was sitting in the common room with Emma and Frank trying to think of how to approach him, when she suddenly realised something.  
  
"Where's Alice?" Lily asked, looking around.  
  
"I don't know." Emma replied, looking just as confused. "Come to think of it, I haven't seen much of her at all this past week. I wonder what she's been up to?"  
  
"Oh!" said Sirius, "I know what's going on!"  
  
"Do you always listen to other people's conversations?" Lily asked.  
  
"No," said Sirius smiling, "you're just special!"  
  
"So, what's going on with Alice?" asked Emma, excitedly.  
  
Sirius lowered his voice, and leaned in towards them, "She's been running off to meet with a secret boyfriend," he said seriously. Lily, Emma, and Frank all looked at him like he was crazy. "It's the truth!" Sirius said, looking hurt that they didn't believe him "Honestly! I saw her heading outside with some guy, I don't know who he is, some Ravenclaw, I think, or maybe a Hufflepuff, I'm not really sure..."  
  
"Alice with a Hufflepuff! That's ridiculous!" said Frank, a little too sharply.  
  
"I'm telling you, mate, I saw it!" Sirius insisted as he got up and wandered aimlessly up the stairs to the guys dorm.  
  
"Ridiculous!" Frank mumbled under his breath, but a little less confidently than before.  
  
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Lily was straightening up the common room after she'd stopped a pillow fight between a bunch of second and third years when Emma burst into the room, dragging a very angry-looking Frank.  
  
"You'll never guess what we just saw!" exclaimed Emma. "Sirius was right! Alice does have a secret boyfriend! We were walking down the hall and we saw Alice come in with some guy. And she smiled and said... and said... Frank what did she say?"  
  
"thank you for everything" Frank replied numbly, looking glum.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, that's right, that's what she said, and he said 'no problem! Same time tomorrow?'" squealed Emma, "and I heard her say 'sure sounds good' then we had to hide because she started walking towards us, and I didn't want her to think we were spying on her or anything. Do you think we should let her know we know? I wonder why she wouldn't want us to know in the first place?" Emma asked.  
  
"I don't know. But I think we should wait until she tells us, I mean she's obviously keeping it a secret for some reason." Lily replied thoughtfully. Emma reluctantly nodded in agreement,  
  
"I guess you're right." She said, sounding only slightly disappointed.  
  
"What do you think Frank?" Lily asked, Frank looked a little dazed and didn't seem to hear. "Frank?"  
  
"hmmm? What? Oh, yeah, uh, we shouldn't say anything, wait for her to confess, I agree."  
  
Just than Alice walked into the room, looking very happy. She had a huge grin on her face,  
  
"Hey guys!" She said, sitting down.  
  
"Hi Alice, where have you been?" Emma asked expectantly.  
  
"Oh I was, um..., ah..., just in the library..." Alice stammered.  
  
The four friends sat working in silence for most of the night. Frank appeared to be brooding and he wouldn't even look at Alice. When she tried to ask him a question he'd just give her a one-word answer and go back to his work. Finally Alice couldn't stand it anymore and asked him what was wrong.  
  
"Nothing! Nothings wrong! I'm going to bed!" Frank replied and stomped off to his dorm, sounding very much like something was wrong. Alice looked at Emma and Lily, looking bewildered, but they just shrugged.  
  
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Lily stood in front of James, she had finally worked up the courage to apologize.  
  
"James, I am so sorry about yelling at you. I know I overreacted, I promise I'll try to control my temper better in the future."  
  
"It's OK Lily, don't worry about it." James said smiling down at her, looking into her eyes.  
  
"I just don't know what comes over me, I just can't help myself and- " Lily was talking very fast and James put a hand on her shoulder to calm her down.  
  
"It's alright, I forgive you" he said, smiling again, squeezing her shoulders to let her know he meant it.  
  
"But-" began Lily.  
  
"Lily! Look at me!" James commanded in a soft, soothing voice. Lily stopped talking and looked up at James, who was looking down at her, smiling just for her, just like he seemed to be in the picture. "I said it's alright" James mumbled softly as he moved his hand from her shoulders to place it on her cheek. He took a step closer, Lily's heart jumped into her throat and her pulse began to race, she barely remembered to breath as he began to run his hand slowly through her hair. "Lily, you... are... so beautiful" James said, barely whispering as he stared into Lily's eyes. Lily took a step closer, she couldn't believe this was happening, here, now, with James Potter. But as the warmth from his body came closer, all doubts were erased from her mind. Their faces were now only inches apart, she could feel his warm breath on her face, could see his lips, looking so inviting. She tilted her head up and moved in closer as she closed her eyes, and just as their lips were about to touch, a loud, maniacal laughter suddenly rang out all around them. James backed away from Lily and she opened her eyes to see that James was laughing to. He now had his arm around Erin, who was the source of the first laugh.  
  
"Can you believe... she actually thought... you'd want her!" Erin gasped between laughs. James and Erin continued to laugh, Lily felt her face getting warm she tried to turn to run away but every direction she turned to, there were Erin and James, laughing at her and holding onto each other. Finally they began to walk away but their laughs were still ringing loud and clear. Lily tried to chase them, but her feet seemed glued to the ground.  
  
"Wait!" she called. "Where are you going? Where are you taking him?"  
  
"Away from you!" Erin shouted back, laughing even louder, sounding evil, insane. Then suddenly the laugher changed, it was now a man's voice, evil, sinister, dark. Voldemort's voice.  
  
"I'm going to take him away from you, Lily!" Voldemort's laugh rang out in the space all around her, getting louder and louder until Lily felt that she was being suffocated by it.  
  
"Lily!" the voice began to call, "Lily!" suddenly the voice became clearer, a girls voice again, but kind, friendly, Alice, Alice! Lily opened her eyes to see Alice sitting on her bed, shaking her. "Lily! Good you're awake! Are you OK?" She asked sounding concerned. "You looked like you were having a bad dream." Lily smiled,  
  
"It didn't start out that way," she mumbled to herself.  
  
"What's that?" Alice asked.  
  
"Nothing. I mean I'm fine, what's wrong with you? What are you doing up in the middle of the night?" Lily asked stretching as a sleepy Emma was just waking up on the other side of the room.  
  
"What's going on?" Emma asked groggily, climbing out of bed and trudging over to Lily's.  
  
"Well," began Alice "I was downstairs, I fell asleep on the couch, but something woke me up. I sat up and looked around but couldn't see anything so I was about to go back to sleep when I heard the portrait door being opened. I peeked over the back of the couch and looked at the door, I still couldn't see anybody, but I saw the door swing shut. I decided I should find out was going on, so I quickly slipped out the door and looked down the hall, I couldn't see anyone and was about to go back inside when I heard voices. Actually, I heard Sirius, and James, I'm sure it was them, Merlin knows they talk enough for me to know the sound of their voices! Well, they sounded like they were only a few feet in front of me, but I couldn't see anyone. Sirius said something like 'Wormtail, you git, watch where you're stepping that was my foot' then I heard James say 'shhhh! Do you want Filtch to catch us?'. I walked in their direction for awhile, but since I couldn't see them, I don't know where they went, so I just came back up here." Alice finished and looked up at Lily and Emma. "So what do you think? How were they invisible?"  
  
"Well, they could have figured out how to make some sort of invisibility potion, maybe" suggested Emma, yawning.  
  
"I don't know, but it seemed like they were walking awfully close together." Emma replied uncertainly.  
  
"Maybe it was an invisibility shield, like a bubble, that only works for a small area ..." Lily offered. "Or some sort of blanket or cloak... I'm not really sure, but at least we have some idea of how they've been managing to sneak around the school all these years without getting caught!"  
  
"I wonder what they were going out for tonight?" Emma asked, yawning again and rubbing her eyes.  
  
"I don't know" Lily said thoughtfully "but I plan to ask them in the morning!"  
  
End of chapter 5  
  
Thanks again to everyone who reviewed! You're the best! 


	6. Marauder's Night Out

Disclaimer: Harry Potter does not belong to me. Period.  
  
A/N: All the events in this chapter take place over the same time period as chapter 5, just from James's perspective  
  
Chapter 6: Marauder's Night Out  
  
"As you know, Transfiguration can be a very useful magic, and I am pleased to see so many of you have decided to take your transfiguration NEWTs. However, you cannot expect to pass your examination without putting in a lot of hard work. NEWT year is not a time goof off..." Professor McGonagall informed the class sternly, throwing a warning glance in the direction of James and Sirius who were sitting next to each other at the back of the classroom. James was having trouble paying attention. It could have been the fact that they had been given the same lecture from every professor they'd had so far, or it could have been the fact that Lily, who was sitting two rows in front of him, was sucking on the end of her quill rather seductively, and all he could think about was his dream where he'd almost kissed her, except in his head as he was thinking about it, the dream didn't end with Peter crashing out of bed...  
  
"You know," whispered Sirius, "we've been at school a whole week, and we haven't pulled a single prank so far, people are going to think we've lost our touch!" James barely registered that Sirius had said anything, he was too preoccupied with *other* thoughts, so he just nodded blankly.  
  
"And we wouldn't want to lose our reputation in our last year, would we?" Sirius continued, nudging James. James again made some sort of non- committal grunt.  
  
"Oh, and, by the way I've finally realized that I'm in love with Snape." Sirius continued.  
  
"Uh huh..." James mumbled, absently.  
  
"Yep. We've decided to elope, over the Christmas holidays." Sirius continued evenly.  
  
"Is that right?" James suddenly received a hard whack to his head. "Ouch!" James exclaimed. Professor McGonagall turned around to stare at him.  
  
"Is everything alright, Mr. Potter?" She asked in her no-nonsense tone.  
  
"Yeah," James said rubbing his head "everything's fine." As soon as Professor McGonagall's head was turned, James shot Sirius a nasty look and hissed, "What was that for?"  
  
"If you weren't too busy staring a pretty redheads, you'd know." Sirius replied mockingly.  
  
"Sorry." James mumbled, flushing slightly. Professor McGonagall was just passing out rabbits to the class. As James and Sirius took turns idly transfiguring their rabbit into various inanimate objects, Sirius tried to convince James that it was time the Marauders made an appearance. James was a little uncertain.  
  
"It might not be the best time to pull a prank, what with Voldemort's attack and all..." James argued.  
  
"Nonsense!" exclaimed Sirius. "It's the perfect time! It will help keep people's spirits up!" Sirius said with a twinkle in his eye.  
  
"I don't know..." James said, still a little unsure.  
  
"Oh come off it!" Sirius said, in fake exasperation. "You just don't want to get into trouble with Ms McGonaLily!" Sirius turned away from his friend in mock disgust. James laughed as Sirius transfigured the rabbit into a red wig, which he put on and started batting his eyes at James, obviously trying to do a poor impersonation of Lily.  
  
"Alright, alright! Let's think of something good!" James finally agreed, still laughing, as he transformed the wig that was still on Sirius's head back into rabbit form.  
  
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Later that day Sirius, James, Peter and Remus were discussing what they wanted to do for their first prank of their final year. As they approached a group of Slytherin's walking towards them, they could easily distinguish Snape, his greasy hair and hooked nose were easily visible above the heads of the group he was leading. He looked like he was surrounded by a bunch of fourth year Slytherin's. As Snape and his group passed the Marauders, Snape exclaimed loud enough that everyone in the hall could hear.  
  
"And we have to put up with a stupid Mudblood Head Girl again this year! I tell you, this place is going to the dogs." James, whirled around and prepared to fight Snape, but Sirius grabbed him and held him back. James was surprised; Sirius never gave up the opportunity to duel with Slytherins.  
  
"What are you doing?" James asked through clenched teeth.  
  
"Saving you ass!" Sirius hissed, indicating the open doorway behind then, which framed Professor Drabb, their Potion's teacher. "He'd just love the opportunity to take off extra points, and you know how much I hate seeing that smug look on Snape's face! Besides, we're going to get him back – I think we've found our victim!"  
  
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"How many openings are there on the team this year?" Remus asked James. The four friends were sitting in the Gryffindor common room discussing Quidditch tryouts.  
  
"Well, let's see, Luke and Sarah graduated last year, that leaves us one chaser and a keeper short..." James said, considering.  
  
"But then we also lost Megan, I think she transferred to Beauxbatons over the summer..." Sirius piped up. "What a pity, I really enjoyed watching her on the pitch..." Sirius joked, looking wistful. "So that opens up another chaser position."  
  
"So I guess that leaves room for two chasers and a keeper." James finished. Just then he heard the portrait open and a 4 third years walked in, looking very glum. When James asked them what was wrong they replied that one of their friends had to leave Hogwarts because his parents were worried about Voldemort attacking the school. Not knowing what else to do, James suggested the four of them help make Quidditch posters to get their minds off their friend.  
  
Soon they had several dozen posters ready. Everyone in the common room came over to see what was going on. Someone called out the suggestion that the posters should talk, and pretty soon everyone was coming up with lines to charm the posters to say. James looked around. Everyone looked like they were having fun. For the first time since they'd heard about Voldemort's attack, everyone looked like they were relaxed, and happy, not constantly worrying about the future. James smiled, he was glad he could do something to help. When the posters were finished, James helped to show the younger Gryffindors what spells to use to post them on the walls. Pretty soon, the whole room was covered in posters, and there were smiles on everyone's faces.  
  
As people filed out of the room to go to the Great Hall for dinner, James ran up to his room to grab something. As he came back downstairs he saw Lily, who looked very upset about something, yelling at Sirius.  
  
"I want you to take them down right now!" Lily was clearly upset by the posters in the common room. "How am I supposed to do any studying with all these James's yelling in my ear! And speaking of James, where is he anyways?"  
  
James walked forward. "Right here," he called out. Lily whirled around. James had to catch his breath. Lily was flushed from her outburst at Sirius, her eyes and cheeks were on fire. How can I find her so attractive even when she's yelling at me? thought James to himself, it hardly seems fair!  
  
"Well, I suppose you heard. I want you to take these posters down RIGHT NOW! And to think, I was even starting to think you had grown up a bit, and then you go and pull a stunt like this!" As Lily's words hit him, James felt like he'd been punched in the stomach. But after he'd gotten over the initial sting her words caused, he felt an anger begin to rise in him. He couldn't understand why a couple of posters were making her so mad. He hadn't done anything wrong! "And I'm going to have a shower, and when I get back this all better be cleaned up!" As Lily whirled around and began to march up to her room, part of James just wanted to let her walk away, but something made him run after her. He couldn't stand her being mad at him, especially for no good reason.  
  
"Wait! Lily!" James called after her as he ran to catch up. Lily kept walking. James searched for what he wanted to say, "look, Lily, before you run off would you please listen to me? I wasn't going to leave them up, I just thought it would be good for effect, let everybody know about Quidditch and give them a little fun in the process. If you haven't noticed, people around here have been a little tense lately. I just thought I'd try and boost moral, that's all." James gave her a pleading look, hoping his words had some sort of calming effect.  
  
"Are you finished?" Lily asked. James could hear the chill in her voice. Fine then! He thought, if she wants to be that way, then that's alright with me!  
  
"Yeah, I guess I am." James said, trying to match the cold tone of Lily's voice. James was struggling to keep from shouting at her, so her turned and walked away slowly. He'd only gone a few steps when he slowed and turned around, ready to apologize, but Lily was nowhere in sight.  
  
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James and Sirius were watching intently from across the room, barely containing their excitement, as they watched Snape take a drink from his cup. Peter began to snigger as Snape finished the drink. Even Remus, who had a lot to say against the idea when they first brought it up, now stared with expectant excitement across the room to the Slytherin table. The first signs of pink started at the roots of his greasy hair, but it soon spread so that his whole head was covered in thick, bright, florescent pink hair. The Marauders could barely contain their laughter at the sight, but tried their best to avoid suspicion by trying to seem very interested in their food. Those sitting around Snape had begun to laugh and point at him. Finally realizing what had happened to him, Snape shrieked and ran out of the hall. James, Sirius, Peter and Remus quickly gathered their stuff and left the room as quickly as possible, trying not to arose suspicion. As soon as they were out of earshot of any professors they exploded with laughter.  
  
"That was.... *gasp* so..... *gasp*... funny!!!" Peter exclaimed between giggles.  
  
"I have to admit, that was pretty good, you guys! Where did you learn how to brew that potion?" Remus asked them, once he'd managed to control his laughter.  
  
"Ah, yes, Moony, old boy, we ARE the best! And the best never reveal their secrets!" Sirius said, with a mock air of superiority. "And to think – it will be at least a week before it wears of too!" Sirius smiled gleefully.  
  
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James paced the common room, checking his watch. She was late, us usual, he thought, although it didn't really bother him. He wasn't really looking forward to his date with Erin he had too much on his mind at the moment. It had been almost a week, and Lily still hadn't spoken to him. But he didn't want to be the first one to apologize, he still firmly believed he had done nothing wrong. If she was going be stubborn, then fine! He could do it too! Only it seemed like she didn't really seem to care one way or the other. In fact, hadn't she just been only too happy to avoid him for the past week? Maybe he should just forget about her completely. Maybe it was a good thing she wasn't speaking to him, it might give him the chance to get over her once and for all. Besides, as he kept telling himself, Lily's not that special, right? I mean who really wants a fiery, redheaded, goody-two-shoes, skinny little witch anyways? *You do* said a small voice at the back of his mind.  
  
"Oh shut up!" James yelled at himself angrily.  
  
"What's that?" James heard a voice behind him and turned around to see Erin standing there.  
  
"Oh, nothing, nothing!" James covered quickly. "Are you ready to go?" He asked as he smiled. She nodded and they headed out to the grounds. Erin was talking non-stop but James was still too preoccupied with thoughts of Lily to really pay attention, so he just nodded now and then and occasionally made a small noise of agreement. Erin didn't seem to notice, however, she was too busy explaining something about some Ravenclaw guy named Greg and what he had done in her Charms class on Monday.  
  
The two walked across the school grounds and sat down by the lake. It was beautiful. The leaves on the trees were just beginning to turn colour and the air was still warm and a pleasant breeze was coming off the lake. James sighed. He wished he could come here with Lily. They would sit and talk by the side of the lake. He would sit leaning against this tree, she could lean against him, put her head in his lap. He would smile at her, and stoke her beautiful red hair, and stare into her pretty green eyes. They would laugh together, and he would know that she was all his. James felt a urgent longing deep in his heart. I will never have that, he thought to himself sadly, she can never be mine. He suddenly realised that Erin was asking him a question.  
  
"James? JAMES? Are you all right? Your mind is like a million miles away!" James looked at Erin. She really was a nice girl. Pretty. Kind. James felt bad for ignoring her, so he vowed to put Lily out of his mind at least until later.  
  
"I'm sorry, it's just been a stressful week, that's all, what were you saying?" James turned his full attention to Erin. They sat talking for a while and James thought he was doing a good job of keeping his mind off Lily until Erin asked him a question about the giant squid in the lake.  
  
"Well, you know Lily says that..." James began.  
  
"Do you realize you've been talking about Lily for the past hour?" Erin interrupted, quietly.  
  
"I have not!" James denied venomously. Although, thinking back, maybe he had mentioned her an inordinate number of times in the last little while. He couldn't help it. So many things reminded him of her! Erin stared at him, looking like she was trying to decide whether or not to say something. She bit her lip and looked down for a moment, hesitating. She began slowly,  
  
"Is there something I should know about you two?" She looked up at James. "I mean, do you fancy her?" James was taken aback by her question. He wasn't prepared for something like this.  
  
"No! Absolutely not!" He said on impulse. "And even if I did, she hates my guts!" Erin didn't look convinced, but let it go.  
  
"Alright, I was just checking." She sighed and looked at the sky. "It's getting late, maybe we should head back." James agreed. Erin was uncharacteristically quiet during the walk back to the Gryffindor common room, and when they got there, she said a quiet good-bye to James and headed towards her room. James watched her go. He knew he should chase her, try to comfort her, she was obviously upset, but somehow he couldn't make his feet move.  
  
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Later that night James, Peter, and Sirius snuck quietly out of bed, taking care not to wake Frank. They threw the cloak over themselves and crept quietly downstairs and out the portrait door. They were halfway along the hall when Peter suddenly took a step back, stepping on Sirius's foot.  
  
"Wormtail, you git, watch where you're stepping that was my foot" Sirius exclaimed loudly.  
  
"Shhhh! Do you want Filtch to catch us?" James whispered back loudly, then he caught sight of what had made Peter nervous. Alice had left the common room and was looking right in their direction. James motioned for the four of them to press up against the wall. They watched as Alice walked past them and down the hall. They waited until she had gone back inside the common room and shut the door. The three gave a sigh of relief, and continued out to the grounds.  
  
As soon as they were out of the school, they stashed the cloak beside a tree so they could find it later and transformed into their animal forms. As soon as James transformed into Prongs, he galloped in a wide circle around the grounds. It felt good to feel so free, so wild. Things were so much less complicated when he was in this form. Peter, as a rat, had managed to scurry around the whomping willow to press the knot that would stop the branches from trying to kill anyone who approached. As soon as Remus had joined them, the four friends began to joyously romp through the forbidden forest. Peter trying hard to keep up with the three larger animals. Suddenly, they heard a noise through the branches and a centaur appeared in a clearing just ahead of them. For some strange reason, Remus began to move towards the creature, preparing to pounce. James and Sirius quickly moved to intercept him before he could harm the centaur. But the centaur had seen him and hurled a large rock at Remus's head. The centaur had remarkable aim and Remus the warewolf crumpled into a heap on the ground. James and Sirius immediately transformed back into themselves and ran to check on Remus. Peter caught up to them a moment later.  
  
"Is he OK?" Peter asked, his eyes wide with fear. He kept darting a glace over to the centaur, who was still lingering just over James and Sirius's shoulders. James gave a sigh of relief.  
  
"He's fine." James said, giddy with relief.  
  
"Yup, but he'll have a fair-sized bump on his head tomorrow!" Sirius exclaimed, also sounding relieved. James stood up and turned to the centaur.  
  
"Look, we're really sorry about this, but we wouldn't have let him attack you." To James's surprise the centaur lowered his front legs and bowed to him and Sirius.  
  
"No need to apologize James Potter." James was at a loss for words, he had heard centaurs hated wizards.  
  
"My name is Firenze and it is my honour to meet the four of you." James and Sirius looked at each other questioningly. Peter looked scared.  
  
"Well, I know we've worked up quite a reputation at Hogwarts, but I never imagined it would have spread out here!" Sirius exclaimed, grinning. Firenze shook his head and smiled at them indulgently, the way one would to a child.  
  
"It is not for what you have done, but for what you will do that I am speaking of. You will all be of great importance to the future of this world. Take care of yourselves, young wizards. I am deeply sorry for the burdens you all must bear." Firenze bowed again and took off at a canter into the woods.  
  
"Whoa! What was that all about!" Sirius exclaimed as soon Firenze was gone. James shook his head.  
  
"I don't know. Strange creatures. But we best get Remus here back. He's going to have a bit of explaining to do to Madam Pompfry in the morning." James quickly transformed into Prongs and Peter and Sirius managed to secure Remus to James's back.  
  
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The next morning, James dragged himself out of bed. He virtually stumbled down the stairs to the common room to be confronted by Lily. James's brain was little fuzzy due to his lack of sleep, so his first thought was that of relief. Finally, he thought, she's going to start talking to me again! But it soon hit him that she looked a little upset about something. He braced himself for another fight, but was surprised when Lily simply asked,  
  
"So, did you have fun with Remus last night?"  
  
End of Chapter 6  
  
Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed!!! I love you guys!!!! 


	7. Quidditch Tryouts

Disclaimer: Sadly, Harry Potter was created by JK Rowling, not myself  
  
Chapter 7: Quidditch Tryouts  
  
The next morning, James dragged himself out of bed. He virtually stumbled down the stairs to the common room to be confronted by Lily. James's brain was little fuzzy due to his lack of sleep, so his first thought was that of relief. Finally, he thought, she's going to start talking to me again! But it soon hit him that she looked a little upset about something. He braced himself for another fight, but was surprised when Lily simply asked,  
  
"So, did you have fun with Remus last night?"  
  
"What?" James, still half asleep was still trying to grasp the meaning of her question.  
  
"Don't try to charm your way out of this one, James Potter!" Lily's calm voice began to rise again. "I know you guys snuck out last night! Alice saw – or rather heard- you leave." James's head was slowly starting to clear, and he began to understand what Lily was talking about. He looked at her for a few seconds, and he noticed her relax slightly and become less tense, like she had made her mind up about something. She began in a quieter voice.  
  
"I'm sorry. I promised myself I would give you a chance to explain this time, seeing as how last time I might have jumped to conclusions. It's just - I was in the hospital wing this morning, I had a headache," Lily began, sounding a little worried, "and I saw Remus in there. He looked pretty bad, like he was really sick, and he had a huge bruise on his head. What happened to him?" James looked at her, she looked really sincere, he longed to tell her about Remus, and their nighttime adventures. But it was not his secret to tell. He couldn't. He wouldn't betray Remus's trust like that, even though he knew Lily wouldn't think any less of Remus if she knew he was a warewolf. Instead he looked down and said quietly,  
  
"I'm sorry, I would tell you if I could, I honestly would. But I can't." James said, lifting his head up to meet her eyes, like he was waiting for something, he looked at her expectantly "Go ahead and yell at me then." His comment struck Lily like a slap to the face. She knew he'd only meant it as a joke, but still... Does he really think that's all I do, she wondered. She looked up at him, he wasn't making any excuses, and he seemed sincere. Lily didn't know what to think. Her anger had all but subsided; all that was left was an intense feeling of confusion. She stared at James, he looked up and caught her gaze, Lily blushed slightly and turned away. Maybe he is entitled to his secrets, she thought. She suddenly realised she didn't want to go another whole week without speaking to him. She looked back at him to catch him still staring at her, her breath caught in her throat at the intenseness of his gaze. James took a step closer to her, strange thoughts began to jump into Lily's head, and her heart began to race. They were still staring at each other. James moved even closer, he looked like he wanted to reach out and touch her, and Lily ached for him to do just that.  
  
"Look, Lily, I-" James began.  
  
"Yes?" Lily urged, her heart pounding more furiously.  
  
"...I better go check on Remus" James said quickly after a long pause. Lily's heart sank as James quickly backed away from her and headed out the portrait hole, leaving a very confused Lily behind. She quickly shook herself out of the daze. But as much as she tried to ignore the fact, deep down inside she knew that she had been thinking James was going to ask her out, just like he always used to.  
  
"And I would've said yes..." she mumbled to herself as she tried to shake off the feeling of disappointment that had come over her. "What is the world coming to?"  
  
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James shook his head as he walked out of the common room. What had he been thinking? He'd almost asked her out! He'd forgotten about Erin, forgotten Lily hated him, forgotten he was supposed to be over her, how could he have been so stupid! Did he really want her to get mad at him again just after she stated talking to him again? James shook his head at how stupid he could be sometimes. He continued down the hall and snuck into the hospital wing while Madam Pompfry was busy tending to a boy who looked like his arms had been transfigured into wings. He walked over the bed containing Remus. James winced as he realized Lily hadn't been exaggerating. Remus did look awful.  
  
"Hey there, Prongs" said a very groggy Remus. James smiled.  
  
"So how's that lump doing?" He asked, trying to sound pleasant.  
  
"Oh, I'm sure it's only twice as bad as it looks!" Remus joked. James looked down, feeling a little guilty.  
  
"Yeah, sorry about that, mate..."  
  
"Ah, Prongs, are you kidding? It was my own fault. Perhaps tonight we should steer clear of the forest, though, ok?" James willingly agreed, laughing, and would have stayed to talk to Remus longer if Madam Pompfry hadn't discovered him and shooed him out of the wing.  
  
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Lily was sitting curled up in the comfiest chair in the common room, reading through the assigned section of her transfiguration book when Alice sat down in the chair across from her.  
  
"Here you go Lily. It's all done. Are you sure you don't mind taking a look at it for me?" Alice asked as she handed Lily a long roll of parchment. Lily took it from her.  
  
"Not at all," Lily replied as she smiled at Alice. She began to unroll the parchment to reveal Alice's Muggle Studies essay entitled 'Muggle Tales of Magical Creatures: Fact or Fiction". She was about to begin reading when she noticed that Alice was still sitting staring at her and fidgeting with her hands in her lap. Lily put the essay aside.  
  
"Is there something wrong, Alice?" Lily asked concerned. Alice looked down,  
  
"Well, it's just that Frank has been acting really weird all week. He's mad at me and I can't figure out why. He keeps avoiding me whenever I try to speak to him. Do you have any idea what's wrong?" Lily suspected she knew exactly what was going on, and that it had something to do with someone's secret boyfriend, but she decided that it wasn't her place to say anything, so she suggested Alice just try to talk to him.  
  
"I already tried that tactic, but it's not really getting me anywhere." Alice replied glumly. Lily just caught the words "And I was hoping things would be good between us again before tomorrow" as Alice mumbled them under her breath. Lily smiled as Alice walked away dejectedly. Those two better hurry up and realize what is so obvious to everyone else, Lily thought to herself as she turned her attention back to Alice's report.  
  
Lily made her way through the sections on vampires, dragons, ghosts, and hags, she was just finishing the section on warewolves when she took a break to stretch and noticed the full moon shining brightly through the common room window. It must be getting late, she thought.  
  
Alice's essay was actually pretty informative and the part about warewolves was pretty interesting, Lily never met a warewolf before, but she found it interesting that the wizarding world also seemed to shun them, as they were thought to be dangerous. But according to Alice, warewolves were just like any other person except for the three nights surrounding the full moon. Alice wrote that currently there were some wizards who were lobbying to change the current laws, 'but even so,' she wrote 'critics say that even if the laws are changed it will take many years for warewolves to become accepted members of the wizarding world.' The transformation process sounded horribly painful to Lily as well, not to mention that for the few days leading up to the full moon and the few days after, the warewolf would feel tired and ill. It must be a horrible way to live your life, Lily thought. She stared out the window. Then suddenly it hit her. She quickly scanned back through the signs and symptoms that identify a warewolf. She glanced outside at the bright, full moon. Hardly believing, she rushed up the stairs to her dorm and began rifling around. She pulled out the notebook she used to record notes from the past two years weekly prefects meetings. She frantically flipped through the notebook, trying to find some evidence against the horrible suspicion that was rising inside her. Her heart sank as she realized that every time Remus had been absent from a meeting was during a full moon. She knew because she always used CopyWell ink at those meetings so that she had an extra copy to give to Remus. Merlin! Lily thought, Remus is a warewolf! James must know. That must have been where they were last night. Suddenly it all made sense to Lily, and for some reason she felt giddy with relief – a warewolf! That's it? She'd thought it must have been something more serious. But then she remembered Alice's essay. It is serious, she thought. No wonder Remus doesn't want anyone to know- poor guy! Lily promised she wouldn't say anything to anybody until she talked to Remus about it first, to let him know that it didn't matter to her that he was a warewolf.  
  
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"Next!" James called, getting a little exasperated. He'd already seen eight potential chasers who couldn't handle a quaffle to save their life. Sirius came over, flying in circles.  
  
"You know, Prongsey, old boy, we could always just have you do it all by yourself. Put two players up there, tell 'em to stay out of the way, let you work your magic!" James rolled his eyes.  
  
"I'm good, but I'm not THAT good!" James growled as turned his attention back to the next potential chaser. It was a young second year with bright red hair. He looked a little gangly, but, well, you never know.  
  
"Alright, Bill, is it? Let's see what you can do!" James watched as Sirius and Frank ran Bill through a series of drills. James was impressed, he definitely saw potential in the tall redhead, he was pulling moves that James hadn't mastered until his third year. He began to smile, maybe these try-outs aren't a complete waste of time after all. He put a big check next to Bills name on the list  
  
The next name on the list came as a complete surprise. Alice Whitter. Alice? James thought, he had no idea she could play Quidditch. Alice came out on the pitch. James immediately noticed a change in Frank. He flew right down to her and asked loudly,  
  
"What are you doing here?"  
  
"I'm trying out for the team" Alice replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, which, James had to admit, was pretty much the case.  
  
"Is that so?" Frank muttered as he mounted his broom. He looked over at the stands where some students sat watching the tryouts. James noticed him staring at one boy in particular, James recognized him as Andrew White, a seventh year Hufflepuff.  
  
Frank and Sirius began to run Alice through the drills. James noticed that Frank kept going out of his way to make the tryout as difficult as possible. He kept throwing her virtually uncatchable passes (of which she caught quite a few, James noted with a smile). It finally went too far when Alice was made to dive for a pass Frank had thrown and nearly crashed into the ground. He was just about the blow the whistle to call Frank over to him when Alice manoeuvred her broom to land on the ground. Frank dived down and landed next to her. Alice looked livid.  
  
"I don't know what's been bothering you lately Frank, and frankly right now, I DON"T CARE, but I DO care that you're messing up my chances of getting on the team!" Alice was so furious she was shaking.  
  
"Why?" Frank yelled back, "You want to impress that boyfriend of yours?" Frank said waving his hands wildly in the direction of the stands.  
  
"Boyfriend? What boyfriend?" Alice sounded completely taken aback.  
  
"The one you've been meeting in secret! And don't try to deny it! Emma and I saw the two of you!" Frank was shouting now.  
  
"You mean Andrew?" Alice asked, confused.  
  
"If Andrew is that short, little stump of a guy sitting up the stands cheering you on, then yeah, I mean Andrew." Frank shot back.  
  
"For your information, Andrew is my COUSIN!" Alice replied.  
  
"Your cousin?" Frank asked after the few seconds it took for this new information in sink in.  
  
"Yes, my cousin." Alice replied evenly.  
  
"Than why have you been meeting in secret?" Frank asked in a slightly more subdued tone.  
  
"Because he's been helping me practice Quidditch – I wanted to try out for the team, and he's been coaching me." Alice explained, anger still very evident in her voice.  
  
"Well if it was so innocent," said Frank, still not sounding convinced, "then why didn't you just tell us what was going on? I could have helped you practice."  
  
"Because," Alice replied coldly, "I wanted it to be a surprise!" Frank looked down at his feet a little sheepishly.  
  
"So there's no boyfriend?" he asked in an almost hopeful voice.  
  
"No!" came the emphatic reply from Alice.  
  
"Well, ah... right then, I'm, well... I'm ah... really sorry then..." Frank looked a little embarrassed, as he ran a hand through his hair. "you know, about all this... and ...ah, about the way I've been acting lately...."  
  
"Thank you!" interrupted Alice coldly, "But if you don't mind, I'd like to continue to try out WITHOUT your unfair tactics!"  
  
"No need," said James, who had decided to stay out of the whole exchange. He walked forward and exclaimed. "I think we've found a new chaser! Welcome to the team Alice!" James announced, grinning. Alice's face lit up with a huge grin. She looked at Frank, and her grin dropped slightly, but a second later it was back, and she threw her arms around Frank's neck.  
  
"Oh, darn it all! I'll be mad at you later! Right now I want to celebrate!" Alice exclaimed, too happy to care about anything else. Frank looked more than a little surprised and a faint hint of red stained his cheeks, he backed off quickly as soon as Alice released him, not able to meet her gaze. James smiled. It looked like they would have a good team this year after all, he thought.  
  
End of Chapter 7  
  
Reviewers, you are the greatest people in the world! Thank you for making my day! ( 


	8. Conversations

Disclaimer: blah, blah, blah, Harry Potter is not mine yada, yada  
  
Chapter 8: Conversations...  
  
Lily was sitting in her seat next to Emma waiting for their Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Graham, to arrive. She was happy that things were pretty much back to normal again. Frank and Alice had made up and seemed to be just as good of friends as they ever were. Lily looked in front of her to where the two of them sat, chatting away. No one seemed to want to discuss the unspoken reason why Frank has been so bothered by the possibility that Alice might have a boyfriend. Lily smiled, she hoped they figured it out soon. Things were also back to normal between her and James, if there was a normal for the two of them. At least they were talking again, Lily thought, relieved; it had been a difficult week for the Head Girl not being able to speak to the Head Boy. Lily noticed that the class was starting to get a little impatient; it was not like Professor Graham to be late. Emma, us usual, seemed oblivious to what was going on around her, and was chattering away,  
  
"You know, I've been thinking a lot lately," she was telling Lily, "about what we're going to do after Hogwarts. It IS only a few short months away, have you decided what you want to do?" Lily shook her head at Emma's question, this was, in fact, something that had been bothering Lily as well. Emma continued, "I was thinking about working for the ministry. Do you think I'd make a good Minister for Magic?" Emma asked, jokingly. Before Lily could reply, she heard Professor Graham walk in. She turned her attention to the front of the room as murmurs began to circulate around the room. Lily was surprised to see that the wizard at the front of the room was not Professor Graham, but Professor Dumbledore. Lily's stomach did a flip-flop, she hoped there hadn't been another attack.  
  
Dumbledore raised his hands and the class fell silent. He began in low, pleasant tone,  
  
"Hello, hello! I know you are all expecting to see Professor Graham here today, unfortunately he has been called away on urgent business, he is not sure whether he will be able to return this year. We are currently looking for a replacement, but until then, I'm afraid you will have to suffer with me as your Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. Emma looked at Lily in disbelief. Lily thought it was more than a little unusual herself, Dumbledore teaching?  
  
"Well," began Dumbledore merrily, "The first thing you can do is forget about all those textbooks!"  
  
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An hour later Lily was walking out of the best Defence Against the Dark Arts class she had ever been to when Sirius came bounding up to her and Emma and flung his arm around both of their shoulders.  
  
"Great class, eh ladies" he said grinning. Lily and Emma rolled their eyes as they manoeuvred their way out of Sirius's embrace, but they did agree that Defence Against the Dark Arts had never been so fun. Sirius soon caught a glimpse of the pretty blond sixth year he'd been chasing and with a deep bow and a 'good day ladies' Sirius was off.  
  
Emma and Lily walked in silence for a minute; Alice and Frank were absorbed in a conversation about last night's Quidditch practice and had fallen behind. Emma finally spoke up,  
  
"Lily? Why have you been avoiding Remus lately?" she asked, somewhat nervously. Lily looked up.  
  
"I haven't been!" she declared, surprised. Although, looking back she couldn't recall talking to him at all since she found out he was a warewolf. She began in a calmer voice. "Who said I was avoiding him?" she asked. Emma suddenly looked a little embarrassed,  
  
"Well", she stammered, "I was talking to Remus the other day, we were... well, I mean to say, he was – um helping me with my homework and he er- happened to mention it. Emma said quickly. Lily glanced at her, there was more to that story than Emma was saying, but she didn't want to pry. It did get her thinking, though. She had to talk to Remus, she didn't want him to think she hated him or anything. She just didn't know what to do. Should she tell him she knows about him being a warewolf, or should she just pretend that nothing happened. She needed advice, but from who? James! James would know what to do. She decided she would speak to him as soon as possible.  
  
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After her last class, Lily set off to find James. She finally discovered him in the library, of all places, working on an essay. She took a deep breath and walked up to him.  
  
"Hey James," she began; he looked up, surprised to see her there.  
  
"Hi Lily, what's up?" James asked, smiling, he pushed away from the table and leaned back in his chair, giving her his full attention. It was a pose that was particularly attractive, Lily had to note.  
  
"Um...." Lily began, suddenly unable to find the words. She took a seat. " I don't really know how to say this, but..." Lily must have looked really nervous because James leaned over the table and covered her hands with his.  
  
"It's OK," he began, "what is it?" he said soothingly.  
  
"James," Lily finally said, "I know about Remus." James blinked, a look of panic flashed briefly across his face. Whatever he thought she was going to say, it was obviously not that, Lily thought.  
  
"What about Remus?" James asked sharply. Lily looked down.  
  
"I know he's a warewolf." she stated. James didn't say anything for a while. Lily was afraid to look at him, but when she finally did, she was surprised by the look of concern in James's eyes.  
  
"You didn't tell anyone?" He asked finally, quietly. Lily shook her head. "How did you find out?" James asked. Lily recounted her experience with Alice's essay and the old prefect meeting records. James took it all in, listening slowing.  
  
"The thing is," Lily said, finally getting to the point of her talk with James, "I don't know what I should do. I mean, should I tell him, or should I just act like nothing has changed?"  
  
"Nothing HAS changed!" said James, emphatically, "He's still the same guy! He's still Remus Lupin, just the same as he ever was!"  
  
"I know that." Lily replied, reassuringly. "I just want to know if I should tell him that he has my support." James looked at her, uncertainly.  
  
"So you don't think he's like a monster or anything?" James asked.  
  
"Of course not!" Lily replied. James relaxed, and actually smiled at her. Lily's insides melted briefly as they did so frequently now when he smiled at her. James sat back for a moment, thinking.  
  
"I think you should tell him" James concluded at last. "He may not be too happy at first when he finds out that you know, and you may have a difficult time convincing him that it doesn't bother you, but I'm sure he would appreciate the support." James smiled at her again. "Tell you what," James began said after a second, "I'll switch patrol duty with Remus tonight, that'll give you two time to talk." Lily smiled and thanked James. She felt much better now that she had spoken to him.  
  
James watched Lily leave the library until her slender form was out of view. He had hated to give up any patrols with Lily, but he knew that Remus would appreciate the fact that another of his friends had no problem with him being a warewolf. James knew how sensitive Remus was about his condition, however, and he hoped Lily would be able to convince him that it made no difference to her. James smiled, but then, he thought to himself, we are talking about Lily Evens here! What can't she do? James packed up his books and headed out to Quidditch practice. He had a new team to train, and only two weeks before the first match against Hufflepuff.  
  
********************************************************************  
  
Lily waited nervously at the bottom of the stairway leading to the guys dorms for Remus to appear. Their patrol was supposed to begin in five minutes, and Lily still wasn't sure she knew what she wanted to say. Just then Remus appeared at the top of the steps.  
  
"Ready to go?" he asked. Lily nodded. They set out walking down the corridors, looking for anything suspicious. Fortunately, everything appeared quiet. Lily kept glancing sideways at Remus and wringing her hands together nervously. She couldn't think of how to bring up the subject of Remus's condition. It wasn't like you could just say, 'so, Remus, I heard you're a warewolf' or something like that. Lily took a deep breath, well here goes nothing, she thought to herself.  
  
"Listen, Remus," Lily began, talking quickly, "there's something I need to talk to you about." Remus looked at her in surprise.  
  
"What is it, Lily?" he asked sounding concerned. Lily looked over at Remus. Merlin! She thought, why is this so difficult!  
  
"Well", she began, "the other night I was reading Alice's Muggle Studies essay, and there was a section on warewolves" Remus stiffened at the mention of warewolves, he got a panicked kind of look in his eyes. Lily continued quickly, "and I know you've been sick a lot, and I went over all the records, and, and – oh Remus!!! I'm so sorry, I had no idea! What you must have gone through keeping this a secret for so long. I just wanted to let you know that whether you are a warewolf or not makes absolutely no difference to me. You are still my friend, and if there is anything I can do to help you..." Lily trailed off as she caught Remus staring at her with misty eyes.  
  
"You mean, you really don't care?" he asked, barely audible, like he hardly dared to believe what she had said.  
  
"I really and truly don't," she replied, turning to face Remus and giving him a reassuring hug. Remus was too happy to say anything for a while. Remus spent the rest of their patrol talking about his adventures as a warewolf, and how much James and Sirius and Peter have meant to him for the past few years.  
  
"They've made what used to be a time of loneliness and pain into some of the best experiences of my life," he said warmly. Lily didn't understand how they could have spent time with Remus when he was a warewolf, but she didn't want to spoil Remus's mood by asking. When Lily got back to the common room that night, she had a newfound understanding of James, Sirius, and Peter. She began to see how great and loyal of friends they had been to Remus. Maybe, Lily thought, there are some very good reasons to break the rules.  
  
Lily said good night to Remus, and plopped herself down on the couch, with the thought of getting a head start on her transfiguration reading but she had no sooner pulled out the heavy book when she heard footsteps coming down the stairs to the boys rooms. She turned around to see James walking down the steps. She smiled up at him.  
  
"How'd it go?" he asked, sitting down on the couch next to her. Lily recounted most of what happened, and thanked James for all the advice he'd given her. By the end of her story, she was yawning after every second word.  
  
"You should get some sleep," James whispered softly. Lily nodded.  
  
"Just as soon as I finish this chapter..." Lily mumbled. James decided to keep her company and took out his own textbook. He had finished reading about half a page when he felt Lily's head fall onto his shoulder. He looked down at her. She had fallen fast asleep. James smiled as he looked at her. Merlin, she was gorgeous! She seemed to snuggle into him in her sleep, and James leaned back, enjoying the feel of her in his arms, wishing he never had to move. He looked at her sleeping face. He reached out a hand and brushed some hair away, tucking it behind her ear. Her hair was soft and silky; he liked the feel of it. And she smelt so good, he thought, as he started to drift off to sleep as well, comforted by the warmth of Lily's body pressed against his. It took all his willpower to get himself to move from this intimate position. It's a pity I can't sleep with her here like this, he thought to himself, as he slowly eased out from underneath her. But just think much she would scream at me in the morning! He covered her with a blanket and tucked her in carefully. He gave one last look at the sleeping Lily and forced himself to walk back up the stairs to his cold, Lily-less bed.  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
The next day in potions class Lily was absentmindedly stirring their potion, thinking about the dream she had last night about sleeping in James's arms, a small smile on her face, when she was jabbed hard in the ribs.  
  
"ouch!" she exclaimed rubbing her side and giving Alice a nasty look. "What was that for?"  
  
"Look! That cute guy over there is staring at you!" Lily looked up and sure enough, she caught the gaze of a sandy-haired Ravenclaw boy. He quickly flushed and turned away. Lily recognized him as Tyler Abbot, the Ravenclaw keeper. "See!" Emma exclaimed, "I was right! Isn't he cute?" Lily shrugged, she guessed he was pretty good looking, but nothing compared to, say, James Potter she thought.  
  
After potions, Lily was clearing off her desk and preparing to leave when Tyler came towards her.  
  
"Hey Lily," he said a little nervously,. "How are you?" Lily smiled.  
  
"I'm good." She replied.  
  
"Um... I was wondering if you'd, ah, like to meet me later, to, ah, take a walk around the lake or something..." Lily could hear Emma squeal with excitement from across the room. Lily caught James staring at the two of them.  
  
"Um, look, Tyler, I, ah, really appreciate the offer, but I'm just really busy tonight" she said, apologetically. Tyler's face fell. Lily felt bad so she quickly added, "Maybe another time, though." Tyler smiled, he did have a nice smile, Lily had to admit.  
  
"Sure! Well, ah, Take care Lily!" No sooner had Tyler left her side than Emma was there, glaring at her.  
  
"What's the matter with you, Lily? Why'd you say no?"  
  
"I'm just really busy tonight..." she said shrugging, hoping Emma would let it go. Emma threw her hands up in exasperation.  
  
"Lily! What am I going to do with you!" But she grinned and said, "Fine then, but the next time he asks, you better say yes!" Lily laughed,  
  
"What makes you think they'll be a next time?" Lily asked, a little alarmed.  
  
"Because," Emma began, grinning wider, "I saw the way he was looking at you!" Lily's heart sank.  
  
*******************************************************************  
  
The great hall was buzzing with chatter as James, Remus, Sirius and Peter walked in the next morning. They took a seat at the Gryffindor table, and soon owls were swooping in. A large grey owl swooped low and dropped a copy of the Daily Prophet right into Peter's bowl of cereal, soaking him. As Peter left to change, James picked up the paper and began to read the front page. The headline immediately grabbed his attention: HE STRIKES AGAIN!!! James quickly read through the article, Sirius and Remus looking over his shoulder.  
  
The dark mark blazed in the sky again last night over the house of Sam Jenkins. The young wizard, and newly appointed member of the Ministry of Magic, was home alone last night at around 10pm. Witnesses claimed they heard screams coming from inside the house. "I heard him screaming," said Betty Bolder, a particularily distraught neighbour of Mr. Jenkins, "he was saying something like 'do what you like to me, but I will never work for you!' and then all I could hear was that terrible screaming!" This is the second murder in two weeks that has been attributed to He Who Shall Not Be Named. What was unusual about this attack, however, is that Mr. Jenkins was not a muggle-born as the previous victims were, but comes from a long, distinguished line of wizards. It would appear that no one is safe from the wrath of He Who Must Not Be Named.  
  
James stopped reading. Another attack, he thought, anger and fear rising within him. When will it stop! He wanted to be able to do something.  
  
"I think it's time we started up that 'Study Group' we were talking about," James exclaimed quietly, getting up from the table and heading down a corridor for a walk. He wanted to try and calm himself before class. He was passing by a classroom he didn't recognize when he heard Professor Dumbledore's voice.  
  
"I'm going to meet him in Hogsmeade this weekend" he was saying in a low voice, "In the backroom of Honeydukes – I just love their orange gumballs!"  
  
"I beg your pardon?" Professor McGonagall replied.  
  
"Orange gumballs! They sell them at Honeydukes..." Professor Dumbledore replied, merrily.  
  
"Honestly Albus, is this really the time for jokes!" Professor McGonagall said sharply.  
  
"Ah, my dear Minerva, one must always keep their spirits up!" James heard them begin to move towards the door so he quickly ran ahead and ducked around a corner so they wouldn't see him.  
  
******************************************************************  
  
That night, after Frank, Alice, James and Sirius returned from a particularly brutal Quidditch practice, they met Lily, Emma, Peter and Remus in the guy's room to discuss their plan.  
  
"So," began Sirius, "We've come up with an idea to do something, now we just have to decide what that 'something' is. Any ideas?"  
  
James spoke up, "I think we should practice more defensive spells and duelling strategies, just in case any of us are ever faced with the situation."  
  
"I agree," Frank said, nodding.  
  
"And we should also try to find out what's going on, so we can prepare for it." Alice suggested.  
  
"Well," began Lily, "if we're going to practice duelling, we'll need a bigger room than this," she said as she looked around at the crowded bedroom. Sirius and James grinned.  
  
"Why don't you just leave finding a secret room to the experts, little Lady!" Sirius replied, a sly smile on his face. Lily laughed and nodded her approval.  
  
"There is one more thing," James began quietly. He recounted the conversation he'd overheard earlier between Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall.  
  
"I think we should go, find out what's going on!" Frank said.  
  
"But how are we supposed to do that? All Hogsmeade weekends were cancelled, remember?" Lily reminded them. James and Sirius looked at each other and grinned again.  
  
"You forget, you are now working with the four biggest troublemakers at this school. Don't worry we'll be able to get to Hogsmeade."  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
The next day, Lily, James, Emma and Sirius were walking through the secret passageway leading from Hogwarts to the back of Honeydukes. The backroom was empty when they arrived. They began to look around for places to hide when they heard voices just outside the door. Emma jumped behind a crate and Sirius slipped behind a large, broken and dusty sign. The door started to open and Lily was still looking frantically for a place to hide when she was grabbed from behind and pulled into a small closet. She gasped and tried to struggle until she realised it was James who had grabbed her. He looked at her and put a finger to his lips to indicate that she should be quiet. He closed the door quietly, leaving the two of them squished together in the small space. Lily's face was only inches away from James's, her entire body was moulded to James. Lily felt her face go red at the thought of how close they were. She could feel James's breath on her face. He still had his arms around her from when he pulled her into the closet, Lily's skin felt warm and tingly where they rested on her back. Her heart began to pound as James looked down at her.  
  
"Are you alright?" he whispered hoarsely. Lily nodded, not trusting herself to speak. They heard voices in the adjacent room. One was Dumbledore, and the other Lily couldn't recognize. It was hard to catch their words, the closet door muffled them and the men were whispering. Lily managed to hear only a few phrases. She heard Dumbledore say,  
  
"Hogwarts.... You're sure? Halloween?" Then some muffled words and,  
  
"Best of luck to you" from the wizard Lily did not recognize.  
  
"you take care of yourself John..." Profesor Dumbledore said as the first wizard left. A second later they heard Dumbledore leave as well. Neither Lily or James moved.  
  
James wondered if Lily had any idea how crazy she was making him, how much he just wanted to lean down and kiss her right then. How he just wanted to run his fingers through that beautiful, silky hair... It was torturing him to be this close to her without being able do anything about it. Lily shifted her position slightly, she seemed to move, if it was possible, closer to him. Merlin! James thought, trying hard not to look at her. He was afraid that if he did, he wouldn't be able to help himself, he'd have to kiss her, and then he'd be in real trouble. He couldn't resist any longer; he looked down and his breath caught in his throat when he saw the look on her face. She was looking up at him with unmistakeable longing. I must be imagining this, James said to himself, he looked into Lily's eyes, they seemed to want exactly what he wanted. He could hardly believe it. He bent down lower, closer, she looked up at him and tilted her neck back, seeming to urge him on. He lowered his head slowly, their lips were mere centimetres apart, he closed his eyes and– suddenly light flooded into the dark closet, James backed away and blinked, he could see the forms of Emma and Sirius standing in front of them. Lily, also seeming to come to her senses, backed away from him. Emma, so oblivious, started right in,  
  
"Did you guys hear that? Hogwarts! He said that something was going to happen at Hogwarts on Halloween!" she continued to talk, but Sirius was giving them both a very inquisitive glance.  
  
End of Chapter 8  
  
Reviewers, what can I say, I love you guys!!! 


	9. Misunderstandings

Disclaimer: I love 'em, but I don't own 'em (the characters I mean)  
  
Chapter 9: Misunderstandings  
  
He lowered his head slowly, their lips were mere centimetres apart, he closed his eyes and– suddenly light flooded into the dark closet, James backed away and blinked, he could see the forms of Emma and Sirius standing in front of them. Lily, also seeming to come to her senses, backed away from him. Emma, so oblivious, started right in,  
  
"Did you guys hear that? Hogwarts! He said that something was going to happen at Hogwarts on Halloween!" she continued to talk, but Sirius was giving them both a very inquisitive glance.  
  
After Lily and James dislodged themselves from the closet, and each other, the four of them began the journey back through the tunnel towards Hogwarts. Sirius took James aside as they walked. They moved ahead and as soon as they were out of earshot of the girls, Sirius began.  
  
"So, Prongsy! What's going on with you and Little Miss Lily?" Sirius asked curiously.  
  
"Who says there's anything going on between me and Lily?" James asked sharply.  
  
"Whoa, whoa, mate! Sorry! But it was pretty obvious something more than hiding was going on in that closet!" Sirius looked pointedly at James. James sighed.  
  
"Nothing happened." James said. Sirius looked at him, an eyebrow raised. James continued, I mean, "Nothing had happened YET" he emphasized. Sirius looked at him for a minute. When he spoke, his voice held none of its usual merry sarcasm.  
  
"Look James, I know it's none of my business, but I hope you know what you're doing... I wouldn't want to see you, either of you, get hurt. And may I remind you, you DO have a girlfriend, James, you might want to remember that a little more often." With a pang, James remembered Erin.  
  
Sirius was right, what was he thinking? But what if, he dared to hope, what if Lily actually liked him. He shook his head, No, he told himself, I was just imagining things in that closet, there's no way, after all this time... but it was no use, he couldn't convince himself. He knew, he KNEW, he hadn't imagined the way she was looking at him in that closet. He would remember that look for the rest of his life. But what if she regretted it? Things were just starting to go well between them, he thought, I don't want to ruin it again already! I need to talk to her, he thought. Alone.  
  
Meanwhile Lily was walking next to Emma, lost in thought as well. Emma was gripping her arm rather painfully but was thankfully quiet for the time being, too busy looking out for spiders to engage in conversation. A smile played across Lily's lips as she thought about what almost happened in the closet. It had almost happened, hadn't it?? She hadn't just been imagining it? Lily didn't know what to think. A few months ago she would knew exactly how she'd react, but now... James really had grown up a lot, and she couldn't deny that she found him attractive, and... Merlin knows ... she had wanted to kiss him in that closet! Lily smiled as she thought back to that moment. But what had James meant by it? Was he actually serious? She had to talk to him.  
  
As they arrived back in the Gryffindor common room, Emma and Sirius headed up to their dorms. Lily and James were left alone. They looked at each other and an embarrassed and awkward silence fell between them. Suddenly, now that they had the opportunity to talk, neither of them seemed to have anything to say. They stood there, facing each other, both unwilling to meet the others eye. Why was this so hard? Lily thought. Both of them were afraid to say something, unsure of what the other's intentions were, neither willing to risk the bitter sting of rejection.  
  
"Look James"  
  
"Look Lily" They said at the exact same time. They shared a quick, nervous laugh, which served to alleviate a bit of the tension.  
  
"You go first." Lily said, relieved not to have to do it. James fiddled nervously with his hands for a second before taking a deep breath as he looked up at her,  
  
"Alright, Lily, you know that I li..." Just then Peter came running into the room, interrupting James. Gasping, he pushed Lily aside and started talking to James.  
  
"Hey *gasp* Prongs", Peter began, trying to catch his breath, "Hurry, its McGonagall, she need to *gasp* see you right away, its about *gasp* the Quidditch match!"  
  
"Can it wait a minute Wormtail?" James asked.  
  
"No! She said it was important. Come on!" He was tugging on James' robes.  
  
"Alright, alright! Give me a second!" James looked back at Lily. He hated to leave without finishing their conversation. He looked at her and walked closer.  
  
"We'll finish our conversation later, ok?" he said quietly as he smiled at her. He stood right in front of her for an awkward moment, wanting to do something to assure her he was serious. He leaned in closer and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. He then ran off quickly so she wouldn't see the blush that was creeping up his face.  
  
James knocked on the door to Professor McGonagall's office and entered when he heard a faint call from within.  
  
"Ah Mr. Potter" she said as he entered the room. "Have a seat." James sat down, wondering what possibly could have happened. A horrible thought suddenly gripped him, what if Dumbledore had decided to cancel Quidditch because of all the attacks? Maybe the crowds were an easy target or something. He prayed that wasn't the case.  
  
"What's the problem?" he asked, trying not to sound worried.  
  
"I'm afraid have some bad news," Professor McGonagall began. Uh oh, James's heart sunk. "Hufflepuff's seeker has been in an unfortunate 'accident' and will be confined to the hospital wing for the next two weeks. Hufflepuff is therefore unable to compete against you for the first match." Relief flooded through him, he felt like laughing, that was all? That just meant that they would have a few extra weeks to prepare. Excellent!  
  
"Kindly enough," Professor McGonagall continued, a hint of sarcasm in her voice, "To avoid getting behind in the season, the Slytherin team has offered to take Hufflepuff's place against you." James stood up, angry,  
  
"What?" he practically shouted.  
  
"Mr Potter! Control yourself!" Professor McGonagall exclaimed, although she seemed quite unhappy about the news herself.  
  
"But Professor, we've been practicing to play against Hufflepuff, we can't possibly be ready to play Slytherin in a week!" Slytherin's strategy varied greatly from Hufflepuff's, meaning that all the work they'd been doing for the past few weeks was next to useless for the match.  
  
"I'm afraid there's nothing I can do about it, Mr Potter, you'll just have to make the best of it." She turned her attention back to the letter she was writing on her desk, and without looking up added, "Oh, and by they way, I took the liberty of booking the Quidditch pitch for Gryffindor every night for the remainder of this week, if you would like to use the time for extra practice. Unfortunately, I suppose that means if Slytherin wants to practice, they will have to do it elsewhere." James stared at McGonagall and grinned. "Now, Mr Potter, if you'll excuse me, I have some work to do." James got up and left the office. He was anxious to get back and talk to Lily, but that would have to wait. He found Peter pacing nervously just outside of Professor McGonagall's office. He looked like he was waiting for someone to tell him what to do.  
  
"Wormtail" James said "Go get Sirius, tell him that we are now playing Slytherin and not Hufflepuff next week. Tell him to get the team together and meet me on the pitch as soon as possible – I'm going to get the balls." James started off down the corridor in the opposite direction of Peter, a sudden thought came to him, "oh, and Wormtail, - tell Lily where I am too, ok?"  
  
"Lily? Why?" Peter asked, confused.  
  
"Just do it!" James shouted back.  
  
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Lily watched as James ran out the portrait door, she placed her hand to her cheek and stood stunned for a few minutes. She smiled. She couldn't deny it any longer. The truth came crashing over her, threatening to knock her down. She sat down on the couch. She thought about his smiles, his voice, his jokes, and all their conversations over the past few weeks. She thought about her dreams and the way she always seemed to get butterflies in her stomach every time he was near. She couldn't deny the truth any longer. She was in love with James Potter. She smiled as she admitted it to herself, even as she recognized the implications of what she had just confessed.  
  
Lily looked up expectantly as she heard the portrait door swing open, hoping for it to be James. It wasn't. Her heart sunk as she saw Peter, his face red from running. He barely glanced at her before heading up to the boy's dorms. He was back down a few minutes later with Sirius.  
  
"Hey Lily," Sirius called over to her, "have you seen Alice or Frank around?" Lily said she hadn't.  
  
"What's going on?" she asked. She listened as Sirius explained the situation.  
  
"That's horrible!" Lily exclaimed.  
  
"Yep," Sirius agreed pulling up his sleeves, "James has called an emergency practice."  
  
"Oh yeah!" squeaked Peter, "He said to tell you!" Lily thought that was considerate of him.  
  
"Oy! Anita!" Sirius yelled up the girl's stairs to the Gryffindor seeker, magically amplifying his voice.  
  
"If I see Frank or Alice I'll let them know!" Lily yelled after them as they left. She then sighed and picked up a book. She attempted to work, trying, albeit very unsuccessfully, to keep certain Quidditch captains and dark closets out of her head.  
  
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Lily looked at her watch for what was apparently the tenth time in the last hour. When would they be coming in? She looked out the window; it was getting dark, surely not much longer? she thought, I have to go to patrol soon!  
  
"Lily? It's your turn." Lily turned back to the game of Wizards Chess she was playing against Emma. Lily had given up studying a while ago and had accepted Emma's offer of chess, even though Emma was just learning the game. They were sitting by the fire in the common room, Remus sat next to Emma, helping to teach her how to play, offering suggestions when she looked uncertain.  
  
Lily looked at her watch again, 8:00, she noted glumly.  
  
"Sorry guys," she said standing up and stretching, "we'll have to finish this another time, I've got to head to patrol." Remus looked up,  
  
"Patrol, tonight?" he asked, confused. "This isn't your night, is it?"  
  
"Caitlynn said she couldn't make it, sick or something. I think it might just have to do with being sick of the company." Lily sighed. "She would have been patrolling with Severus Snape tonight."  
  
Emma made a sour face and Remus looked up at her with an apologetic smile.  
  
"Honestly I've tried to be nice to him, but lately, he's gotten more adamant about the whole 'pure blood vs muggle born' issue. It's getting harder and harder to keep things civil." Lily sighed as she gathered her things and headed out the door.  
  
***********************************************************************  
  
Several hours later Lily returned from an exhausting patrol; exhausting because she had to keep forcing herself not to lose her temper, not because anything actually eventful happened. She looked around the common room for James but saw no one. Disappointed she headed up to her room and got ready for bed. She pulled back the covers and found a piece of folded paper with a ribbon tied around it. She smiled and felt a faint tingle of excitement as she scooped it up. She looked around to make sure everyone was asleep. She opened it. It was from James, she wondered briefly how in the world he'd got it up the stairs. It read:  
  
Lily,  
  
Sorry I missed you tonight. Meet me tomorrow morning, eleven o'clock?  
  
-James  
  
Lily snuggled into her bed, a smile on her face, as she drifted off to sleep.  
  
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Lily was waiting in the common room when James came in. He walked up to her smiling.  
  
"Finally!" he whispered, clasping her hands, "We're alone! We can finally have our talk." Lily's heart was pounding,  
  
"So," she smiled, her cheeks aflame, "what is it that you wanted to talk about?"  
  
"I wanted to apologize." James said moving closer, tucking a stray hair behind Lily's ear. Lily shivered pleasantly at the touch. She swallowed.  
  
"Apologize for what?" she asked, barely able to make her mouth form the words.  
  
"For not finishing what I started in the closet," James said hoarsely. And with that he grabbed her, pulled her close and kissed her. Fire coursed through Lily's veins, she couldn't think. She felt dizzy and tingly all over. Need rose in her and soon she was responding to James with as much fervour as he was to her. She twined her hands around his back, tracing his strong shoulders as she opened her mouth to deepen the kiss. She moved her hands to caress his hair, she wanted to touch him everywhere, she couldn't get enough of him. And it seemed he couldn't get enough of her, he pulled her closer against him and continued to kiss her, one hand in her hair the other firmly on her back.  
  
"Lily" James whispered.  
  
"Yes" Lily mumbled between kisses.  
  
"Lily!" James said a little bit louder.  
  
"Uh huh?" Lily replied, her eyes still closed.  
  
"Lily!!" much more insistent. "LILY!!!" Lily opened her eyes to see Emma standing over her.  
  
"Lily it's time to get up! You told me to wake you at 8:30, remember?" Lily groaned.  
  
"Yeah, yeah" she grumbled, upset about being woken from such an... enjoyable... dream. She stared at Emma; she looked like she'd been up for hours.  
  
"How is it," Lily asked, "that you can get up so early on weekends, but you're always late on weekdays?"  
  
"Well, on weekends I wake up because I know that when I get up, I can do anything I want to do. What's the point in getting up on weekdays when I know that as soon as I do – I'll have to go to class!" Emma explained.  
  
Lily laid in bed for a few minutes after Emma had left, grinning to herself. What a dream! she thought. She headed off to take a shower, unable to wipe the stupid grin off her face. She was just heading down the stairs to go for breakfast when she saw James heading out of the common room. He was smiling and holding the door for a tall shapely blonde.  
  
Lily stopped dead, she felt like she'd been punched in the gut. Erin! She had forgotten about Erin! How could she have been so stupid! And James, what was he thinking? Going off on a date with Erin now, coming back for me at 11:00!!! Lily sat down on the couch, confused, upset, and angry. She went over the last day in her mind. She'd been so sure he'd felt the same way as her... but then again, maybe she was mistaken about what James had felt. I mean, she thought, he never actually said anything... maybe it was all just me wishing he did. Maybe the whole time he was just feeling guilty about almost cheating on his girlfriend. I mean, look at her, she's gorgeous! Why would he want me over her? she thought despairingly. Lily couldn't think straight, she felt miserable. She noticed other people start to crowd into the common room. She decided she needed a walk and headed out the door.  
  
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James walked nervously next to Erin. He didn't know how he was going to tell her he wanted to break up. He didn't know what reason to give. Saying that he was breaking up with her on the chance, THE CHANCE, that Lily might return his feelings seemed a little insulting, he thought. Erin seemed distracted as well as they walked in silence along by the lake. They came to the shade of a tree. Erin placed a hand on his arm.  
  
"Let's have a seat here." Erin said quietly. James nodded and they both sat. A very heavy silence hung between them, James was still trying to work up the courage to say what he had to say when Erin suddenly burst into tears.  
  
"Erin!?!" James asked, "What's wrong?" James rubbed a comforting hand on her back, but that just seemed to just make her cry harder.  
  
"Oh, stop! Stop!" she cried. "You're too sweet!" she wailed. James was bewildered; he didn't know what to do.  
  
"It's alright, Erin, it'll be alright." He attempted. She sobs slowly came to a stop. She sniffed.  
  
"I'm so sorry, James, I really am. But there's something a need to tell you." Her bottom lip quivered and James hoped another crying spell wasn't coming on.  
  
"Whatever it is, you know you can tell me." He said soothingly. Erin took a big gulp of air and dapped her eyes with a tissue that James handed her.  
  
"Ok, well, you know how I was always talking about Greg Hendricks, you know, the Ravenclaw Chaser," James didn't know, but he nodded anyways. "Well, well, I think I might really like him, you see and, and... oh Jamsie! I'm so sorry! I never meant for it to happen!" It took James a minute to work out that she was breaking up with him. It was a strange feeling, being dumped, but oddly enough, James was not really upset about it at all. In fact, he was sorta relieved. At least now he didn't have to do it! he thought. James assured Erin that everything was ok, that he didn't hate her, and that they would stay friends, but, really, he was anxious to get back and find Lily, now that he was able to be with her without feeling so guilty about it. He walked Erin inside, and they hugged and parted ways at the entrance. As soon as Erin was out of sight, James ran up the stairs, two at a time, racing towards the common room.  
  
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As Lily walked, the madder she got at James. She didn't know if her anger was justified or not, but she felt it anyway, and needed someone to blame. He seemed a convenient target. She found herself in the library. She collapsed into a heap in one of the comfy chairs and just stared at the wall. Lily had been sitting there for a few minutes when she was startled by a voice behind her.  
  
"Lily?" Lily whirled around. It was Tyler Abbot, the Ravenclaw keeper who had asked her out in Potions the other day. Just great! Lily thought, just what I need!  
  
"What do you want?" she barked at him. She knew she wasn't being very nice, but she didn't feel in a very nice mood. He looked taken aback. Lily made an effort and softened her face a little.  
  
"I'm sorry," she said, "I'm just having a really bad day." Tyler smiled understandingly and sat down in the chair next to her.  
  
"So, are you still busy?" he asked, smiling over at her. She stared at him for a moment in disbelief. Is he asking me out? Lily thought. Of course I can't go. I mean what about James... What about James? another voice in the back of her mind said. It's not like he's keeping himself single and available for you! Lily thought about it, why not? She thought, he was a really nice guy. She smiled at him.  
  
"Not at all!" she smiled at the huge grin that spread across his face. "I just have to be back for eleven." She rose from the chair and headed outside with Tyler.  
  
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James was pacing around the common room, excited and nervous. He looked at his watch; it was ten to eleven, ten more minutes! He thought about what he'd say to her, how she'd react... He looked around the room. He saw Emma giggling from over by the window. He decided to find out what she found so amusing.  
  
"Hey Emma," she said as he drew closer to her, "what's so funny?" Emma pointed out onto the yard and handed him the Super-Eyes she'd been using. He looked through the magnifying device and felt like he'd been hit with a pile of bricks. It was Lily! And she was walking with a boy James recognized from the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. They looked very friendly.  
  
"Do you see them?" Emma was asking excitedly.  
  
"Who – who is that guy?" James asked trying to keep his voice from shaking.  
  
"Oh, that's her boyfriend!" Emma exclaimed. James nearly dropped the pair of Super-Eyes.  
  
"Her – her what?!?" he asked surprised.  
  
"Well, he's not really her boyfriend. At least not yet, but hopefully soon! Don't they look cute together?" she asked, taking the Super Eyes back to have another look. James's head was spinning. He thought he needed to sit down.  
  
"You know," Emma was saying, "I used to think you two would make a cute couple." James leaned against the wall and slowly sunk to the ground. "But Lily always gave me such a nasty look whenever I brought it up! And besides, you've got Erin now." Emma turned around and sighed happily. She put the Super Eyes back in her robes. She looked down at James, who now had his head in his hands, cursing himself for being stupid enough to think that she had changed her opinion of him so fast.  
  
"James?" Emma asked, sounding concerned, "Are you OK?"  
  
End of Chapter 9  
  
Sorry to leave it there! I'll try to post the next chapter soon, but school has been keeping me busy. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, you guys really make me want to keep going! 


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